The slow time of summer Learning to slow down (really)

There is something paradoxical about summer.

We look forward to it all year as the time of relief, of rest, of lighter days. Yet, when it comes, really disconnecting seems harder than expected: we work until the last minute before a departure, we fill the vacations with “things to do,” schedules, milestones, lists.

Even lightness seems to become a duty.

But time is not domesticated, not allowed to be compressed or expanded on command.

And so, while everything around invites relaxation-the high sun, the scent of cut grass, the slower pace of the villages-something inside us keeps running.

This is where a reflection arises that applies in every season, but takes on a truer flavor in summer: the beauty of small daily breaks.

Those that don’t require suitcases or miles, just presence.

A coffee in the sun, sitting on the little wall in front of the house, without shaking the screen, a walk through the rows ofvines, without a precise destination, letting the smell of the vines and the sound of the cicadas take you. A slow chat with a neighbor, a friend, a passerby: without hurry, without “come on, I have to run.”

The (summer) blockade of the creative

For those who work with ideas-write, design, create-there is then another important dimension: that of the creative vacuum.

That time when, apparently, “nothing happens”: but it is precisely there, in the absence of continuous stimulation, that the best thoughts settle!

It takes courage to leave room for the void because we are used to filling it immediately, perhaps with a podcast, a task, a notification.

But the mind, like the earth, needs rest to bear fruit, peasant traditions teach us.

And then the question arises: how can we take care of our time, even for just ten minutes a day?

Let yourself be inspired

Here are some simple inspirations, perfect for you who live in or visit the Langhe in the summer.

Go to the market

Wake up early and go to the market in La Morra to look for local produce.

Get tempted by seasonal crops, bargaining and getting recommendations for fresh recipes (have you ever tried zucchini flower caponets?).

Walk through the rows

Stroll through the vineyards of Neive, when the light is still golden and the air smells of dew.

It is an experience that reconnects to wonder, without the need for words.

Enjoy local events

Stop by a local event such as a small festival, a sundowner tasting, or a theatrical or musical performance-these are all opportunities to listen, to taste, to be.

Of events and festivals in the Langhe in summer, you’ll be spoiled for choice!

Eat out

Lunch at a tavern with outdoor tables, without checking the time.

Let the food, wine and company take their course. Here, the art of conviviality is a form of collective meditation.

Write

Keep a notebook of your pauses: each day, write down three beautiful things experienced unhurriedly. A laugh, a landscape, a kind gesture. It is a way to cultivate gratitude, but also presence.

…Now forget the advice

Write down all these tips, then forget them: it is also important to let chance guide you.

No great escapes are needed to return to oneself. All it takes is to stop chasing. And the Langhe, with their quiet pace, villages suspended in time, nature that envelops without clamor, are an ideal gymnasium for learning to really slow down.

After all, it is not the number of vacation days that makes the difference, but the quality of the time we give ourselves.

Sometimes a fully lived hour is enough to find our way back home. Within ourselves.