Allegro Ma Non-Rapido

Hi readers — welcome to the blog!

I am wrapping up my Italian summer study abroad program, and I can’t wait to show you all the new projects I have been working on for A Graceful Space; Let’s just say that I am very excited about what is in store for the rest of 2023….

Speaking of Italy, while I have been here for the last six weeks, I had a great conversation with my friend, Raleigh Dewan, about the Italian lifestyle.

If you have ever traveled to Italy yourself or heard about their “siesta” hours, long dinners, and fewer work commitments, you may know what I’m talking about.

Basically, the Italian leisure lifestyle and the U.S. hustle culture represent two contrasting approaches to life.

In Italy, leisure and relaxation are highly valued, with an emphasis on savoring the moment and enjoying the present. Italians prioritize family, socializing, and taking breaks to indulge in long meals and afternoon siestas. The Italian leisure lifestyle showcases the importance of work-life balance and finding joy in simple pleasures.

On the other hand, the U.S. hustle culture embodies a fast-paced, achievement-oriented mindset. Americans often prioritize work and productivity above leisure time, striving for success and constantly pushing themselves to achieve more. The hustle culture values long hours, multitasking, and relentless pursuit of goals. While it can lead to individual accomplishments, it may also result in stress, burnout, and neglect of personal well-being.

Have any of y’all ever experienced the pressure or been caught up in American hustle culture?

Ultimately, the balance between work and leisure, with Italy emphasizing leisure as an integral part of a fulfilling life, while the U.S. places greater emphasis on work and achievement, highlights the stark difference in ways of living.

Italians “work to live” vs. Americans “living to work”.

My friend, Raleigh, has reflected on this notion himself. As a very successful young adult, multi-business owner, entrepreneur, and recent graduate of SMU, he has experienced what it means to feel the pressure of typical American hustle culture at a young age.

However, Raleigh—like we all—has to find the equilibrium amidst this.

I know that I, myself, constantly am struggling to live in the present moment, but it is through conversations and reflections like this that really help me recenter; I hope it will for y’all too!

Please welcome his valuable insight to you readers :)

Raleigh:

From Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy show to the Dolce Far Niente Tik Tok mega-trend, the US has been exposed to the beauty of the Italian lifestyle. But coastal clips of the Amalfi Coast or White Lotus-inspired Tuscan Tik Toks, do not represent the whole of the country, nor do they depict the whole context of a life.

In seeing this cleanly “clipped and captured” lifestyle, one can swiftly become incited with feelings of jealousy and hurry to “hustle” until one can make enough money to stop and enjoy the lavish life.

The dangerous doom scrolling swings you into a dangerous space—one where you feel less than, behind, and unable to exist in the present.

Perhaps the antidote exists in another Italian phrase, one however that has not yet become a viral trend.

Allegro Ma Non-Rapido, quickly but not fast, quinte sizes the kind of relaxed but focused grace that characterizes much of Italian culture. In our relentless pursuit of the newest trend, tech, status, or social standing, we often lose the ability to “break.” Oftentimes, we start thrashing.

We move so quickly from one thing to the next, working ourselves up into a frenzy before switching to the next siren call of our culture, that we make little progress in anything besides our unhappiness. This happens all while our culture reinforces inane expectations of what is “success” and “happiness,” constantly moving the goal post you kill yourself to reach.

While it remains difficult, we have to find a foothold to take a beat—to slow down. This does not mean we have to stop working or progressing on our goals. But, it does mean we must move intentionally.

In actuality, it is when we move too fast that we make mistakes, forge down the wrong path, and end up lost and exhausted.

The antidote does not require a two-week sound cleanse retreat or vacation, but simply an alignment. A ship without a destination knows no favorable wind, as a person without the proper goals and sustainable systems for how to reach them.

Allegro ma non rapido represents a battle cry against hustle culture. It implores us not to stop, but to slow down so we can figure out what we want, where to go, and how to get there. We don’t need to have everything now and good things do not happen so fast.

As the saying goes, “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” Allegro ma non rapido, i miei amici!

Personal Bio:

Raleigh Dewan is a storyteller, social entrepreneur, part-time pasta aficionado, and full-time fool from Austin, Texas. He's the founder of the Sister Shaq Tea Company, a socially conscious company fighting human trafficking, and SteadiSpoon, a self-stabilizing assistive eating device for people with debilitating hand tremors. Dewan recently graduated from Southern Methodist University with degrees in Marketing and English along with minors in Italian, History, Public Policy, International Affairs, and Biomedical Engineering. He's also a momma's boy.

If you’re interested in learning more or just want to chat about Bossa Nova music, you can reach him at Raleigh@thenbgroup.com.