Vivere con lentezza – Slow Living

One of my last days in Italy this year, I discovered Bruno Contigiani and a book of his, Vivere con lentezzaSlow Living. Bruno was a manager in Milan who, after seeking a life coach for advice, married her! And changed his life, slowing it down. Slow Living is now a movement that caught the attention of international media (see The New Yorker), has a nice Website (in Italian: www.vivereconlentezza.it; in English:

Vivere con lentezza

www.fmprodeveloper.it/siti/vivereconlentezza/), organizes a yearly “Slow Living Day” (2009 in Tokyo), and a number of other interesting enjoyable projects.

Bruno & friends have devised a simple set of rules to slow life down and enjoy it some more (and perhaps understand it). They call this set the Slowmandments. Go and check them out! Here are the first four:

Wake up five minutes earlier than usual so you have time to shave, do your make up or have breakfast without hurrying

While queuing at the supermarket or in traffic relax, don’t get angry and try to use your time for planning your day or talking to your neighbor in line

When you enter a café, make a habit of saying hello to the waiter before ordering and after enjoying your coffee remember to say goodbye (this rule works for all stores, offices and in the elevator!)

Write your text messages on your cell phone with no symbols or abbreviations and get in the habit of starting with “Dear…”

Obviously, I got bit by this bee. I am getting home earlier, take naps more often, and I am taking work a bit less seriously…

About Antonio Vantaggiato

Professor, web2.0 enthusiast, and didactic chef.
This entry was posted in life, philosophic-discourse, tools. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *