La Dolce Vita

I've noticed lately that there is a wonderful past time that Americans are missing out on. We do it so often that it's ceased to be something special and simply become a task. People in other nations have gotten it right so why are we missing out on it? I'm talking about the art of going out to eat. In my life we go to a restaurant, order, chat a bit, get our food, pay the bill, and leave with 45 minutes elapsed if there wasn't a wait. It's almost just something to check off the to-do list. It's not the most enjoyable experience. We have the dinner and a movie mindset, whatever happened to just dinner being the event of the evening? In some countries you'll be in a restaurant for up to 3 hours or more. You chat, you order an appetizer, you chat some more, you order your meal, you chat some more, you get your food and you continue chatting while you eat, and before long you realize you do have room for dessert while your chatting and you go ahead and order that too. What's the difference? You take your time and enjoy the company. Stress levels are a huge contribution to a plethora of medical issues ailing Americans. So why don't we set aside an evening once a week or more often, get together with friends, share a good meal, and RELAX? I've noticed when I spend more time talking I spend less time eating so that I eat less and feel more full when I'm done.

Within so many of us there's this little voice that just keeps saying "What're we doing next? What're we doing next?" How about for once we just tell the voice "Nothing, this is it, sit back and have a great time." We need to sit back and enjoy La Dolce Vita, otherwise we'll wake up and realize that we have very few friends and have wasted our entire lives rushing from Point A to Point B without stopping to enjoy the sweeter things in life.