As we were arriving and taking our stroll, the town was just beginning to awaken from its midday slumber. There’s a very powerful “reboot” that this second awakening permits and it’s palpable, even on days when I’d not personally napped. On the heels of a restorative pause, the energy of the evening is light and positive, not agitated and overextended.
While Americans tend to come
home around 5pm to 6pm exhausted and running on fumes, the Greeks are just getting going with a skip in their step! As we passed restaurants, store fronts, and even the bakery, individuals were in the mindful flow of tending to their spaces with care and respect. The chores of sweeping, watering, and cleaning seemed to be the ritualistic way to prepare for and greet the evening. All along my walk, I noticed a cherishing and reverence of old material possessions and structures that’s not so typical in American culture. For Americans, when something is broken, the quick inclination is to replace it. In Greece, there’s a willingness to take the time to care for buildings and possessions, gardens and flowers. It’s fairly typical to see broken items still in use or repurposed, as opposed to discarded. In American culture, that may be considered shabby chic; in Greece, this is a deeply engrained way of relating to their possessions, an endeavor that takes willingness and time.