I was sat there in the garden, watching the sunset over the mountain. I was kind of meditating on my Facing Fears blog post and then something hit me…… I’ve had my car for 12 months. I’ve not travelled very far in him but……. I haven’t paid my bolo auto either - road tax here in Italy.
Ooooooooops, I definitely haven’t paid anything; I think I might be breaking the law. I checked online, sure enough, it was due 8 months ago.
Now not only do I have to pay the full amount, quite considerable for a Mini Cooper, but I also have to pay it again in three months’ time AND I have a fine. Thank heavens I don’t own a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, I wouldn’t want to pay the fine on a super bolo.
My thoughts had been rudely interrupted by my total disregard for the law (haha, I’m becoming Italian). What I had been thinking about was self-limiting beliefs. Before moving here I never really thought that I couldn’t do this. I wanted it so much that I went all out to get it. I decided to get a better life and nothing phased me. Where your attention goes, your energy flows, and that applies to all aspects of life not just moving to a different country. But what constitutes a better life?
A Better Life - Part one
For me, a better life means taking it slow or la dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. Well, I'm not exactly doing nothing, I've two businesses to run. But even so, things are done at a much slower speed, there’s no rush and every day just has to have me time.
This week I’ve been ‘floating about’ a lot. Thinking, looking, more thinking, more looking. It’s all dolce far niente.
Nothing is done at speed, and what is done is done deliberately. I’ve been noticing everything from the feeling of my feet on the ground to the fact that flies fly in squares…I know strange, have you noticed that?
That’s what happens when you slow down. You notice stuff, not important stuff, just stuff. You have time to notice the small things in life and be amazed at how the little things are just as amazing as the big things. The smell of flowers, the sound of bells, the heat, it’s all so in your face when you slow down and notice.
And when I say everything’s fine… I was, of course, referring to my fine, the first I’ve ever had. The word fine is not a word I want to use for life. Fine to me means, just about ok, not great but that’s life…. No, life should never be just fine, we’re too special and our lives are too short to live lives that are ‘fine’, we should live lives that are amazing, fun, fulfilling and filled with excitement, and if not, we owe it to ourselves to have some dolce far niente time at least once a day.