You Need To Try This French Happiness Ritual ASAP
We could all use a little happiness boost in the month of January, and in doing so it only makes sense to look no further than the secrets of the world’s happiest people. Here are three happiness-related rituals from around the world to get behind ASAP.
Make time to eat. Reclaim your lunchtime and sit with friends, family, and colleagues and enjoy eating your food slowly and with company. “And for dessert?” “No dessert, but I would like a coffee afterward, please. Un café américain.”
After giving a lecture in Paris, I had the afternoon off and had lunch in a small restaurant close to the Musée d’Orsay, on the border between the 5th and 7th arrondissements. “No dessert, and you order American coffee in Paris. You are a brave man,” the waiter replied with a smile. Food is not taken lightly in France. This is perhaps most evident in their state schools. Kids are served three-course meals that may consist of a salad for starters, a main course of veal marinated with mushrooms and broccoli, and apple tart for dessert—and cheese and bread, of course.
The cloth napkins and the genuine silverware reveal that the ritual around the meal is almost as important as the food itself. It is about sitting down and eating calmly. The French eat together. That might be one of the reasons the French are the ones who spend the most time eating each day. And, despite its population having three courses and spending all that time at the table, France still has some of the lowest obesity levels in Europe. This may be due to the fact that people eat more when they sit in front of the TV. According to a study from the University of Liverpool, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it could be as much as 25 percent more. And while most countries have official diet recommendations about how many portions…
