A TALE OF SWEETNESS: A young girl was watching her mother wrap the Christmas gifts when she said: “I don’t understand why we have to celebrate a pagan holiday?”

“I don’t see it as a pagan holiday,” the mom replied, “I see it as a kindness holiday.”

“What do you mean?” the girl inquisitively inquired.

“Dolce far Niete,” the mother replied.

“What?”

“Dolce far Niete,” the mom reiterated. “It means the sweetness of doing nothing – that’s what this kindness holiday means to me.”

“I still don’t understand, Mom?”

“It’s like this – if every day is a gift, for 11 months of the year, we are daily wrapping this gift. Yet, most of us are constantly overthinking the wrapping procedure because that’s what good humans do! Analyzing the gift’s size against how much wrapping is needed, pondering the best type of decoration, and trying to figure out the exact amount of time that’s needed to wrap this gift - down to the second.”

The mom stopped her own wrapping for a moment and looked up at her daughter’s face. She wanted to see if she was truly listening, and indeed, her body language reaffirmed to the mom that she was.

“At Christmas, we give ourselves time to enjoy the sweetness of life – permission NOT to overthink, just to enjoy. And then, the miracle of Dolce far Niete sprinkles its magic over us. As we are enjoying the Christmas music and conversation around us, we suddenly realize that the design on the wrapping paper somehow perfectly aligns – of course, done without our conscious attempt.”

The daughter smiled at her mom and answered, “The sweetness of doing nothing.”

“Yes,” the mom replied, “And that often means doing the most.”

Merry Christmas – Hermy x