“In summer, we repair ourselves”, explains Dr Fréderic Saldmann. An entire program. “We gave up on the summer road, the frustrations of everyday life: the imposed schedules, the rain, the constraints of all kinds”adds Jean-Louis Cianni, philosopher and author of Philosophize at the beach (Albin Michel).
We separate from ourselves, we find our true nature
Vacation time is, on the contrary, the time of the body, of rest, of nudity. Getting naked is not easy! But the thought also makes its striptease. In the summer we leave the social mask, we try to be more real but if we are not always the best. We bring back the Diogenes that lies dormant in us. And we are free! It is also true for the mind: this free time, it will be used to reflect on ourselves. And we needed it.
“Summer offers us a chance: to make a breach to find ourselves and get back to basics” explains in his book, Jean-Louis Cianni. Leaving work, bad weather, routine, fatigue, negative values. When we leave, we separate from ourselves, we metamorphose; we go to the world. There is also something spiritual “life is Elsewhere” wrote Rimbaud. But you don’t really have to leave home. You can get lost while traveling and find yourself while staying at home.
We become a “beach philosopher”
Is it while taking a nap or exercising? Still, after a while you feel better. We “live again” they say. Because we do nothing, we can indulge in being more inventive. We philosophize. That is to say that, rested, we reconnect with a dialogue with ourselves, as Socrates let us know. And as we abandon the materialistic ideas that everyday life imposes on us, we let ourselves go… We enrich our thoughts by seeing works of art, by reading and daydreaming.
We live in the present, and it is a rare experience to release worries for the future. It is then necessary to cultivate the Carpe Diem (seize the day), inscribed just in the passage of time.
Lying on the grass or on the sand, we admire the big birds, a plane follows or an advertising banner… let’s not sulk the pleasure of gaining height. All philosophers encourage us to do so. And since we can’t always live in the clouds, we go back to friends for an aperitif but we will have taken a little piece of sky with us. We thus cultivate values that are often undermined during the year.
No need for a diary anymore
We no longer need diaries to take advantage of our children, our parents, our friends. We share meals in the open air, games that we thought were forgotten. The bonds forged are all benefits: American studies have shown that the entourage is a real health booster. Affection and socialization act as real antidepressants to keep the brain healthy and extend life expectancy .
With friends, we find our child’s soul, we laugh, we play, we find a simple soul and we are happy. Like Epicurus who taught happiness. But to achieve this, we must not constantly run after real or imaginary lacks. So we choose what is accessible. We cultivate friendship, we contemplate the world, we cultivate ourselves and we get our happiness.
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World Happiness Day: Florence Servan-Schreiber’s advice
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