Lifestyle Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Stephanie DelTorchio

Do Nothing

My Italian relatives have a saying, “dolce fa niente” which translates to something like “pleasantly doing nothing”.

It’s a version of what you already know. Seize the moment. Enjoy the journey. Stop and smell the roses. Pick a term that speaks to you.

I vividly remember my grandparents, their siblings and spouses sitting around the dining room table sipping coffee and wine, eating plates of antipasto followed by mounds of the best cookies and pastries.

They talked and laughed for hours and hours, never in a hurry for the coming together to end. In fact, the union of them talking (yelling) over each other, in good spirits, felt like a celebration. And it was.

If you were lucky enough to walk in, you were welcomed and served heartily. My grandmother would drag a folding chair from the kitchen saying, “there’s always room at the table for one more.”

Occasionally their party moved onto the side porch but only to catch the afternoon breeze, which extended the lazy day.

In our age of hurry, hurry, hurry, it’s out of our norm to stop, slow down and soak it all in. The majority of our days blur with the stuff that needs to get done. But is it ever really done/finished to our satisfaction? Reality is that we’ll all die with unfinished business in our To-Do boxes. That should be enough to get us to squeeze in the premiere stuff: family, friends, activities we love, and be truly present for a few precious moments every day.

There’s always work, obligations, appointments, deadlines, laundry to fold…you know the drill. We’ve created this hamster wheel. Our body, mind and soul need to step off for a while.

Doing nothing doesn’t mean sitting in a chair staring into space. Well, I suppose it could mean sitting in a chair staring into space, if you call it meditation or prayer.

Today, on purpose, choose to do nothing. And enjoy it.

(Side note: I understand from a reliable source that staring into space and/or doing nothing is easy for men.)

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Image: Unsplash

Addendum:
Author Veronique Vienne penned two books (on my list to read):
The Art of Doing Nothing: Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself and The Art of the Moment: Simple Ways to Get the Most from Life.

Be Childlike

The word AWESOME gets thrown around a lot.

It’s a subjective word, of course. What I find awesome might bore you to death, and vice-versa. I still love the word because it makes me feel childlike. Not childish. There is a difference.

Childish is acting like a baby or with immature tendencies. Acceptable from a toddler. Draining and boorish when adults behave this way, no? You know the type. Whiners. Complainers. Demanding. Feet stompers.

Being childlike is sort of whimsical; trusting, innocent, fearless. All the endearing qualities of children. I remember watching my six-year-old son’s face as we entered the Magic Kingdom. It lit up. He couldn’t take it all in at the same time. Standing there, frozen, in awe of Main Street, the music, the characters – all of it like a dream.

Adults experience this too. Seeing a natural wonder (Grand Canyon anyone?), a Key West sunset, the streets of Paris at night from the top of the Eiffel Tower — your adult eyes open in wide-eyed childlike wonder. You process this differently than a child but it still leaves your heart fluttering. Is this real? Can I bottle it up?

Trying something new, with or without fear, brings on the giddies, right? I remember my first (and only) white water rafting trip in Acadia National Park. No lying, this gal’s heart raced, and not the good kind! Petrified, panicked, were the emotions bubbling under my surface. Crying for Mommy, under my breath.

Despite all logic to stay away from danger, we paddled hard in the direction of a waterfall. A waterfall! Every survival instinct said “turn the raft around” and paddle like hell in the opposite direction. To calm, safe waters.

Instead we paddled hard and fast towards the fall until our arms ached. At the exact moment we reached the crest of the fall my entire body went all rubbery. Fear. Just over the rim I spotted rafts filled with rafters who’d gone over the fall before us. They seemed so tiny, distant, really far down below. Excuse me, what was the size of this drop again?

“HOLD ON!!” came our guide’s instruction from the rear of the raft.

Hold on? Bet your ass!

We dipped over the crest (I swear my feet flipped over my head) and the raft arced downward, then we were airborne. The bow crashed the churning water and went under, followed by our rafting crew. One by one we bobbed to the surface like ducks; drenched, spitting and choking on icy cold freshwater, unlike ducks. Safe and stable again, we high-fived each other, screaming our brains out, elated, and alive. And like all endearing children, once we realized we’d survived the waterfall drop, collectively yelled: “Let’s do it again!”

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio
Image: Viktor Jakovlev

Smile In The Rain

Everyone understands that if you live long enough, sooner or later the Universe finds you and serves up a heaping pile of crap. When that happens to other people, we say well-meaning things like “rainbows follow the rain”, because we love our friends and care about them and don’t know what else to say.

We click LIKE and SHARE on those pretty infographic quotes. Guilty. I love these too!

How do you respond when the Universe calls your name?

The people I admire most will smile in the rain. They don’t hope the sunshine follows the rain. They BELIEVE IT.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio
Image: R. Shayesrehpour

Dare To Be Different

We label people as “different” or “weird” or “strange” or “an odd duck” when we describe an individual who is far away from our belief of “normal”.

What is normal?

A conformist?

A rule player?

Someone who looks and behaves exactly like us?

Can’t we be good citizens, productive workers and still be different?

I’ve always liked the term “free spirit” (in the positive context) to define individuals who dance to their own drum. This person lives in harmony with themselves, Mother Nature and without treading on other people’s weirdness. Sign me up.

As a teenager I went braless because I was a teenager, and honestly there wasn’t much that needed support. A pink t-shirt I wore printed in gold lettering was a public testament to my personal freedom. (I’ll never forget) it said: The Itty Bitty Titty Committy. Funny then. Cringe-worthy today.

The 70s hippie crowd, my generation, plastered the country with demonstrations of free love, drugs, and to this day, the best rock music ever made by a slew of musicians and artists who dared to be different.

We were anti-this and pro-that in the face of “the man”. We thought we were cool.

Hairstyles were long and stringy. Fashion styles ranged from jazzy prints, denim, go-go boots to the beginnings of preppy, non-hippie (men wearing matching pastel sweaters and socks) and the two didn’t meet in the middle. I chose the former; bell-bottoms with thick embroidered bands sewn on the bottom, peasant shirts and halter tops that drove my parents’ generation crazy. We were different. And I didn’t care.

Truthfully I was a fringe partner of my generation. More a middle of the road, closet non-conformist who loved the style than a true card carrying hippie. I did well in school, played by the rules and despite the veil of hippie, honored my parents’ values. I did my own thing for sure, but once the 70s moved into the 80s my perspective on being different shifted. The 80s matured me.

I wore a bra every day. My judgment of others became a live and let live attitude of peace and love. As a homeowner and parent, I had mediocre tolerance and success with heavy metal and big hair, but also silently cheered those who lived by their light. Different is still different and that’s okay with me.

Imaginative and creative people are different than logic driven types. Perceived as aloof or introspective, detached or (yikes) insane, those are the very people “normal” society looks to for innovative advances and artistic expression.

Putting aside the true psychotic personalities out there, the certifiably different, the free spirit types spread their vibe just by being present. The hip and trendy cycle repeats itself with each generation. New styles, music, opinions, fights to fight, causes to defend. Most people evolve and change, perhaps substituting one oddness for another quirk, while others get stuck. There’s plenty of leftover hippies tripping in the 70s man.

Before we label each other, we need to understand it’s our differences that make us unique. I’m cool with that.

BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!

Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio
Images: Bird in flight/Breano Machado/Unsplash; Hippy Town/Pixaby

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