Nihil sub sole novum

When I sat down to write for this blog, I kept having ideas that were already explored in previous posts. Then, it came to mind the saying Nihil sub sole novum - “Nothing new under the sun,” and I knew what to talk about.

The last year and a half was for me the first time I could explore countries different from Italy and not as a tourist. I loved discovering new mindsets and customs, but I also noticed that, at the very core, the world is the same wherever you go. There are multiple sayings about this, from the Italian Tutto il mondo è paese – “It’s the same the world over,” to the Latin Ubique medius caelus est – “Everywhere above us is the center of the sky.” Even if there are evident contrasts in how people satisfy their needs, the difference lies only in the solutions used and not in the fundamental needs at the origin.

The fact that human nature is the same throughout the whole world is a source of great hope since it means that putting into someone else’ shoes is almost always possible. Consequently, trying to see the world through different lenses is what I bring with me from this abroad experience. Mental elasticity is the most common attribute that I found in happy people, so it is better to train it, and it can be done even without leaving town.

To conclude, I share a video on Optimistic Nihilism, which I don’t endorse but find useful for training the mind elasticity. How could you view the next activity you are about to start from a different perspective?