I saw "Julie & Julia" the other night and while I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, it left quite a bitter taste in my mouth.
Why? Because it wasn't my idea. It was the real Julie - not me - who wondered what it would be like to work her way through "The Art of French Cooking" one recipe at a time, who then actually followed through on her idea, wrote a dynamite blog, published a book, and eventually saw her idea realized on the big screen. Of course, when she embarked on her year-long adventure, Julie had no idea the blog would lead to all sorts of grander things - but still.
The point is, so many people have great ideas they pursue just for the heck of it and then, voila! the idea takes off and there you are. The promise of fame and fortune isn't the impetus, it's all about the passion. Well, I mean even Julia Child's career started that way, if you want to get technical about it. One minute she decides she loves to eat and before you know it, she's changed the way Americans cook. It probably didn't seem that quick a transformation to Julia (in fact it took decades) but you catch my drift. In the case of Julie and Julia, each woman focused on her specific passion (for Julia it was food, for Julie it was writing) and went for the gusto.
I've been chewing on this idea for the past week or so, that if you find your passion in life and pursue it in a way that makes you happy doors will open eventually. In the meantime, you'll have some fun and learn a whole lot about yourself in the process.
The other realization that hit me was that there are many other success stories out there about people who focused on one thing, pursued it for awhile, then sat back while book and movie deals were made. The guy who ate fast food for a month comes to mind. "Under the Tuscan Sun," "My Year in Provence," heck even Studs Terkel's oral histories - the list is endless. Which means that there are still many unclaimed great ideas out there that people might find interesting and perhaps there's even one I can write about.
I'm on the waiting list for a writing program, which is probably a great first step. The big idea is still elusive, however. Four of my greatest passions in life are entertaining friends, cooking and eating good food, and Italy, but I don't want to write a day-by-day account while I work my way through a cookbook (been done), and I can't purchase a villa in Tuscany and remodel it (been done, don't have the bucks). But what if I select a great classic Italian cookbook, prepare a different extravagant and seasonal meal each month using the recipes from the book, and invite friends to sit around the table and talk about food and life while eating the meal I've prepared?
Okay, it needs some work, but its a start.
There's another Italian saying of which I'm quite fond: "A tavola non si invecchia mai." Roughly translated: No one grows old around the table. What do you think? Would you come join us?
Il Dolce Far Niente
The sweetness of doing nothing, il dolce far niente, is a wonderful Italian expression that perfectly captures the exquisite gift of living in, and fully appreciating, the moment.
Like most Americans, the ability to live in the moment was for me an abstract idea. Proud of my ability to multitask circles around most people, of my job as director of two hospital departments, of never sitting still for a moment, the concept of "the sweet do-nothing" was at once incredibly appealing and completely foreign.
The concept was foreign, that is, until January 2009 when life intervened and I was abruptly "reorganized" out of my job at the hospital where I worked for almost 20 years.So now, at age 60, here I am living an enforced life of "il dolce far niente." I find myself in the enviable position of having a lot of time on my hands and (initially at least) no idea what to do with it. Although I focus a part of each day doggedly searching for a new job, most of my calendar is so empty it echoes.
But to my surprise, rather than feeling adrift in days without schedules, meetings and agendas, I now know that there is such a richness, such a gift in enjoying each day on its own merit. Rather than controlling my time, I'm learning to allow it to unfold and am almost always pleased with what life presents me.
In this blog, I want to share that richness as I discover the beauty of simple things - while still coming to terms with being unemployed for the first time in my life in an economy that's tanking and where jobs are few and far between. What I hope will evolve through this blog (for you as well as for me) is a true appreciation for another way of living. We'll just have to see how it goes.
Like most Americans, the ability to live in the moment was for me an abstract idea. Proud of my ability to multitask circles around most people, of my job as director of two hospital departments, of never sitting still for a moment, the concept of "the sweet do-nothing" was at once incredibly appealing and completely foreign.
The concept was foreign, that is, until January 2009 when life intervened and I was abruptly "reorganized" out of my job at the hospital where I worked for almost 20 years.So now, at age 60, here I am living an enforced life of "il dolce far niente." I find myself in the enviable position of having a lot of time on my hands and (initially at least) no idea what to do with it. Although I focus a part of each day doggedly searching for a new job, most of my calendar is so empty it echoes.
But to my surprise, rather than feeling adrift in days without schedules, meetings and agendas, I now know that there is such a richness, such a gift in enjoying each day on its own merit. Rather than controlling my time, I'm learning to allow it to unfold and am almost always pleased with what life presents me.
In this blog, I want to share that richness as I discover the beauty of simple things - while still coming to terms with being unemployed for the first time in my life in an economy that's tanking and where jobs are few and far between. What I hope will evolve through this blog (for you as well as for me) is a true appreciation for another way of living. We'll just have to see how it goes.
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2 comments:
Loving your blog
Thank you!
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