The sweet life

A fascinating journey between past and present, reminding  us that current topics such as the value of a choice that goes against the flow of the mainstream, the courage  required in facing up to big changes, the profound importance of enjoying the small pleasures of life and of sharing our growth with the right people, are all things that have been in our culture since time immemorial. 

Philosophy is not the construction of a system, but is the firm decision to look ingenuously into oneself and around oneself.” Henri Bergson 

The success of the many Scandinavian and Oriental books dedicated to recipes for happi ness – hygge, lagom, ikigai, wabi sabi, kintsugi, forest bathing… – demonstrate that we are all on the lookout for advice on how to live well and, in recent years, we have learned that it is much better to add value to what we already have and to rediscover simple pleasures rather than to chase fitfully after a consumeristic and ultimately illusory ideal of happiness. 

Epicurean thought was born in the garden of a lovely small Athenian house that the philosopher shared with the love of his life and it represents a true “Mediterranean diet for happiness”, through the invitation to sharing, to moderation and to enjoying the present moment and the simplest of pleasures.