il bel far niente
“the beauty of doing nothing”
and in doing nothing, one must eat to survive still…
i was reading “Eat Pray Love” last night and i came across this passage:
“Italians have traditionally always been hard workers, especially those long suffering labourers known as braccianti, but even against that backdrop of hard work, il bel far niente, has always been a cherished italian ideal, the beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishmnet for which you are most highly congradualted. the more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life’s achievement. You don’t necessarily have to be rich in order to experience this, either. There’s another wonderful italian expression: l’arte d’arrangiarsi – the art of making something out of nothing. the art of turning a few simple ingredients into a feast, or a few gathered friends into a festival. Anyone with talent for happiness can do this, not only the rich.” – (gilbert, pg. 61-62)
elizabeth gilbert continues on to comparing how Americans spend all of their time working harder than the rest of the world, and yet they don’t know how to relax and enjoy life, and how taking time off could be met with attitudes like people saying “how completely irresponsible of you”, or “what a self indulgent luxury” that is.
and most importantly, (i think) “how do YOU define pleasure?”
“Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure. ours is an entertainment seeking nation, but not necessarily a pleasure seeking one. americans spend billions to keep themselves amused with everything from porn to theme parks to wars, but not exactly the same thing as quiet enjoyment. americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today, but alraming stats show that americans feel more happy and fulfilled in their offices then they do in their own homes. of course, we all inevitably work too hard, then get burned out and have to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas, eating cereal straight out of hte box and staring at the TV in a mild coma (which is the opposite of working, yes, but not exactly the same thing as pleasure). Americans don’t really know how to do – nothing. ” (gilbert, pg. 61)
hahahaha… oh how many times have i felt that in the states… and yet how exciting it was for me as a young adult to figure out what that kind of pleasure was in my work when i was interning at the foodnetwork. To find that balance between work and play. — And by work i mean work – 14 hour days, hustling and covered in food. and playtime was indulging excessively, gluttony if you will in a city like manhattan. And most of the time, not always, such a binary opposite is what people live and breathe everyday in that crazy city. I Loved my life in new york, but almost every month i had that “get me the eff out of this city this weekend” urge — to which i would live my bicoastal life and fly to california for more partying and beach chilling (even during the cold winter months), or take a train into jersey to see my baby cousin in that fresh smelling mall country of america known as the suburbs, where the white picketed fences actually line the deer and the wild turkeys that roam free on the green grassy hills, where there is nothing but churches, malls, schools, and going into “town” for an ice cream cone, and kids play in their long acre yards wearing juicy couture jump suits and tiny tiny ugg boots.
i’ve had the privilege to live and study in both Los Angeles, and New York, which had been a dream of mine since i was, well since baz lurman came out with that sunscreen song. (haha, don’t judge me :) )
Living in America was glamourous, and glamour can be empty. i believe (and correct me if i’m wrong) that john berger first defined glamour as a marketing concept manipulated and used by people to sell products. By first making you picture yourself owning that item that makes you glamourous, you are thus putting yourself into the model’s shoes, and the reality of your life pulls you out of that fantasy just long enough for you to start envying yourself for actually obtaining that status, and hence, you NEED that thing, whatever that thing is.. or you strive towards that ‘nice’ thing in order to obtain that status of being envy-able not only to yourself but to others as well. “like, hey look at me! i made it! check me out! so HOT.”
Most people who live in manhattan agree that it is a place for young rich yuppies, who have the energy and money to blow while gaining some “life experience” while still fresh and green out of college. There are roughly three types of new yorkers –
“ There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. […] Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion.” — E.B. White
HAHAHA, i love that i read that on one of those “poetry in motion” billboard ads on the subway, while i was commuting through manhattan to work or for play.
I was always stressed and tired, and always on the move. but i loved every minute of it because i, as i saw it as a misfortune before, and now i see as a blessing, am lucky enough to Opp out of that lifestyle and back into a more european one like the one i’m living in canada today.
To me, it’s all part of the system, a system in which americans want to change so badly, esp now. That people have no other way to achieve the unattainable all american dream other than to work their asses off and strive for everything because everyone is starting from nothing — debt, no health care, no social security, and where education is a privilege. People give it all they got day in and day out because they have nothing else to loose, and everything to gain in terms of hard work and benefits needed in order to sustain life. How can americans live with pleasure if they feel as though they can’t even take a sick day and get taken care of by the system? — really. (To which i pop you over to Micheal Moore’s “SICKO” — if you haven’t watched this documentary, i highly recommend it. ) And even Holidays off to be with family, can seem like a chore sometimes. (I watched “Four Christmases”, yesterday to which i give credit to the writer’s and director for this hilarious and heartfelt way to handle this kind of story)
This “free” world system has caused so many to work themselves to death and as a result, people don’t know what or even how to find the simple pleasures in life, even when they go on vacation.
of course i’m talking about the culture at a whole, observations from studying and living, and breathing, from an insiders and outsider’s point of view for the last 6 years that i have chosen to claim another identity of mine.
but all of that aside once again, i found some of my best friends in america. People who i simply find the pure pleasure in doing nothing with :)
My greatest pleasure in life is sharing food, drink, and conversation with people no matter where i am in the world. and i think I’m not alone on this one ;)
Which brings me to my next point. my internal hungers lately –
so the beauty of being a stage, a volunteer, a freelance food stylist, and a freelance holiday party bartender (call me! ;)), is that I have A TON of free time on my hands, so much that it seems like i’ve been on vacation for 7 months now.
ok, ok,
(that is what i usually tell people who don’t know me, because i am stuck in this american point of view that doing nothing is bad, and i feel judged)
but to be honest, i’ve had a major shift in my life in the last seven months. i moved home, back to canada after indulging myself in a culture for over 5 years of over working myself to death, to create, live, and breathe the kind of passion, spirit, and envy, that i felt i was missing in my life whilst growing up in toronto. (few! that’s a lot of commas, and hence a lot of breaths of fresh air to take in!) i know… :)
… and to my accord, i’ve been doing nothing but eating, watching movies, listening to music, dancing, and reading, and spending time with old friends, and with my family, immediate and extended.
and coming from a city like manhattan where everything is FAST PACED, GO GO GO!, where people are anxious and bump into you and you bump into them on the streets and no one even flinches, it’s very strange for me to stand still, to sit still and watch the snow fall on the ground and cover the entire city with stillness. Riiiiight winter, i had forgotten all about canadian winters in which mother nature is telling us to just slow down once in a while and take a break to hibernate.
and after fighting this major shift and finally learning to settle down into this “blessing in disguise” since septemeber, i find that i’ve been having a lot of fun. :) for the first time i’ve been able to stand still and watch the world go by, and i must admit, it can be quite pleasurable.
And what about this high life of work hard play hard lifestyle which i have learned to put on a pedestool my whole life, that had become my norm? (a lifestyle in which i have learned to build and accept, since people are always amazed at how much energy i have.)
i am learning the art of doing nothing.
from september until now, (well ok, fine since june.)
i’ve been missing the rush, of taking care of myself fully, and have been missing the rush of being in the kitchen and at work where i never starve, and even in this crazy economy is still getting phone calls for work opps in nyc. i miss walking all over the city to indulge in gluttony in the face paced manhattan eating lifestyle. ;) from boutique restaurant to boutique restaurant, hole in the wall to bar food to street food to cooking in my tiny studio apt kitchen. omg i miss it all :)
So, on the topic of food in which i love to talk about and feel slightly guilty over in this post since I’m not entirely talking about food today –
Here is my reading list, of books that have helped me to delve into my zest for knowledge on FOOD and all that’s in between in the past very slow but pleasurable few months that i’ve had at home.
i highly recommend them to you too :)
The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollan
Eat Pray Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
Food Politics – Marion Nestle
What to Eat – Marion Nestle
Fast Food Nation – Eric Scholsser
The Last Chinese Chef – Nicole Mones
Nutrition, Concepts and Controversies – Sizer Whitney
Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain
Alice Let’s Eat – Calvin Trillin
Don’t Try This At Home, Culinary Catastrophes from World’s Greatest Chefs – Ed. by: Kimberly Witherspoon, Andrew Friedman
Return to Paris – Colette Rossant
The Making of a Chef – Michael Ruhlman
Larousse Gastronomique, The World’s Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia -Clarkson Potter / Publishers
…and many more… (sung like the birthday song.)
I have learned a thing or two about who i am, who i was, and what my roots are through exposure to different concepts of food and culture. for one, learning how to take care of myself in college was a hugeeee thing.
what are preventative and healing foods?
What do i want to eat today?
What am i CRAVING and why?
What gives me the most nutritional value for the amount of calories i spend?
Or am i eating enough for the amount of energy i need to use in order to accomplish i what i need to do today?
qeustions?
me too.
FEEED ME :)
Labels: books on food
Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0143038419/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link
