5 reasons to embrace l'Art de Vivre
By Sarah-Linda
Photography by Mr Bradford. Model @rvrwr. Featuring the Indulge .6, Indulge .5, Indulge .2 and Ovum .8.
Rooted in the French Art de Vivre, my passion for eating well and celebrating life developed itself into tableware and interior accessories.
In France, where I grew up, the art of living is first and foremost the art of enjoying yourself, eating well, dressing up and surrounding yourself with beauty. It’s no surprise that tableware is called les Arts de la Table in France. Tabletop Arts, if you will.
Eating well is not just about going to an expensive restaurant. Eating well means going for pure food, high-quality ingredients with real taste, seasonal produce from local farmers, home-cooked dishes made with love. And the enjoyment is just as important as the ingredients. Setting a beautiful table, lighting candles, taking the time to really taste the food and receive all the pleasure it can give is also a big part of l’Art de Vivre.
Now if you’re thinking this is all superfluous or expensive or difficult, think again. I’d like to show you how easy is is to embrace l’Art de Vivre in your life, and why you should do it.
1.eating mindfully is everything
A big part of embracing l’Art de Vivre, is truly enjoying your food - being mentally present while eating, taking a breath before your first bite, realising what it is you are eating.
Like all of us modern humans, you may sometimes (or too often) find yourself eating quickly in front your computer, TV or phone. Before you know it your meal is gone, and you didn’t even realise you were eating at all.
Research shows that eating in this way, without paying attention to your food, can stop or slow down your digestion (because you’re basically in fight or flight mode), making you miss out on all the nutrients in your meal. Also, your brain needs 20 minutes to register that you’re satiated and need no more food. If you’re eating so quickly, you won’t even have time to feel that you’re full, making you more likely to overeat.
Eating mindfully, incorporating that practise into your Art de Vivre, will help you digest your food better, absorbing all the nutrients it gives you, while also keeping you from overeating and reducing stress. Oh and by the way, you will experience more joy too, actually tasting the delicious things you’re eating.
2.surrounding yourself with beauty creates happiness
Beauty, in the form of objects, rooms, clothes, gardens.. anything, is almost synonymous to Art de Vivre. If life is an art, there has to be beauty. According to Oscar Wilde, beauty might even be the meaning of life itself.
However, beauty is subjective, and surrounding yourself with beauty does not mean buying expensive design furniture or high end clothing. What I am referring to here, comes down to the same thing as before: mindfulness, attention.
Like I wrote in this article, research shows that surrounding yourself with beauty will increase your happiness, reduce your stress and uplift you spirits. What it really means is pay attention to the details: what is beauty for you? Adding a touch of that which you find beautiful, or inspiring, to your home, your outfit or your office, can already create a change in your day to day mood. You don’t have to redo everything, but pay attention to those details that bring you beauty, inspiration or dreams. Notice them more often and see what happens.
3.quality ingredients is quality life
I can’t talk about this enough. Think about it: the foods you eat are the building blocks of your body and your health. You literally are what you eat. Your food is your life fuel. Why wouldn’t you give your body, yourself, the best you possibly can?
There are tons of research showing that foods from natural / organic / regenerative agriculture are much healthier, for humans and the planet. These are quality ingredients. Grown like they are supposed to be grown, without harming the soil, the farmers, the animals or the eaters.
Aside from health, you can taste it too. Quality ingredients have much more flavour (they contain more nutrients), and will bring you actual pleasure.
Another good thing about quality ingredients: because they are more nutritious, you will need less, feel satiated quicker and experience less food cravings, all while enjoying your meal more.
4.attention to details is pure pleasure
The devil is in the details, but so is life. What is life if you don’t pay attention to details, to little moments, to the small pleasures it gives you? A blur, I would say.
Ever seen the movie About Time? I remember only this: once he lets go of the future, he can truly enjoy the present. He suddenly notices beautiful details, smiles, little pleasures, and starts living. You can call it mindfulness, meditation, being present.. it comes down to being aware of your present moment, your surroundings, you life.
In Italy they have this wonderful expression : Il dolce farniente. A moment to do nothing, sit with yourself, observe the world around you and recharge your batteries. It’s about taking a moment to disconnect from the past and the future, and to be completely in the now, noticing small details and little pleasures.
I’m not sure how the French and the Italians would feel about this, but I would say that Il dolce far niente is a beautiful part of l’art de vivre.
5.life is short, enjoy it!
What I love about France, is that many people are embracing l’Art de Vivre without really noticing or giving it a name. They are just living it.
I love these long home made dinners where all ingredients are discussed (“Oh from which market stand is that goat cheese? It’s exceptional!”). More often than not, all guests bring something themselves. A salad, a pie, some cheese or wine.. Many ingredients are from their own gardens or from the farmers market, and people take pride in bringing homemade dishes, quality ingredients with a story. During the meal, everything is truly enjoyed, tasted, assessed, discussed.
Not that we only talk about food, but it is an important part of the event, and I can assure you that it enhances the pleasure.
So what I’m trying to say is, by putting more love and attention into your daily life, your food, routines and surrounding, you will embrace l’art de vivre and, in my opinion, enjoy life much more while being healthier too (I’m that hedonistic health nerd after all).
Become an author too
Would you like to contribute to our journal? Are you an expert on a topic related to anything connecting pleasure with sustainablity and good living? Let us know at info@sarah-linda.com. We look forward to hearing from you!