The Italians have their Dolce Vita, the French La Vie En Rose. Even us funny old Brits have an occasional sense of overwhelming joy and deep contentment that lifts us off the page of everyday normality, the mundane and rut-riven routine. Maybe for us it’s the ‘Good Life’ that Tony Bennett once sang about: “Oh, the good life. Full of fun, seems to be the ideal”. Although it was a Frenchman who first sang it, Sacha Distel, when known as “La Belle Vie” with French lyrics by Jean Broussolle.
Suffice to say, I suspect all nations and nationalities have their unique take on taking the best life has to offer, or seeing it in the most positive way, and I know for a fact the Portuguese do, even if they are better known for their appetite for sadness and saudade. Incidentally, if you ever want to cheer up a Portuguese person, you could let them know that saudade can sometimes auto-correct as ‘sausage’ when texting, which may temporarily relieve them of any yearning, nostalgia or home-sickness that are components of the condition, for which, of course, there is no accurate English-language equivalent.
Anyway, enough of the melancholy, as it’s mirth and mellowness that I wish to focus on today and share my theory of how the Portuguese connect so beautifully with the intrinsic joy of life that seems to elude so many, and increasingly so, in much of the Western world, dogged as it so often is by dysfunctional work ethic and the morally empty pursuit of productivity.
“Why this? Why now?” you might ask. Let me explain…
Portugal’s Vida Boa as it recently dawned on me – in essence or spirit, rather than as specific words in that moment – blessed me obviously and recently as I welcomed my in-laws Alan and Dee back to Portugal for their now annual visit. When friends or relatives visit, you might, as we do, re-visit special places that you know and enjoyed from your own earlier exploration that are made special once more through the sharing of them.
We all have our favourite places, don’t we? The ones that we hope will impress and delight our visitors, which not only showcase the best our new home has to offer, but, in the sharing, we remember again what is so precious and outstanding about the culture that drew us in and in which we are now blessed to have our daily lives.
Picture the scene then, not long after them flying into Lisbon airport, just over an hour away north: me and the ‘out-laws’, my wife their daughter, and their three grandchildren who are delighted to see them, sipping drinks and savouring snacks in glorious bright Portuguese sunshine, with dramatic Atlantic waves crashing into the Óbidos Lagoon nearby. The air is crisply clean. The waves like whipped cream-topped crystal green glass. And people of all ages coming together to play, socialise and refresh themselves in this sandy paradise.
The setting is memorable and impressive enough in its own right to get the estrangeiro seal of approval, but the beer is cold too, the food ravenously enjoyable and service superbly friendly as well. These are the moments that dreams and great memories are made of. Truly a taste of the ‘Good Life’, the Dolce Vita, with a splash of La Belle Vie in there too.
And, as I savour the situation with great love and appreciation, my eye is drawn to a table of Portuguese men having lunch. This place and its momentary magic are the metaphorical water they swim in, I think to myself, taking all of this for granted as their God-given way of life. An easy conviviality, a natural joy, that I love them for and equally love, myself.
I realise too, as I ponder some more, that this isn’t about money or Michelin stars. This is a way of being more than it is about having anything. This Vida Boa is an alchemical combination of delightful environment, abundant resources and an all-important, generations-old respect for the best things in life, which, it’s often said, are free.
Sure, in our world, you need a few pennies in your pocket, but, equally importantly, we must make the time to enjoy such a scenario. And somehow that’s what the Portuguese seem to have been able to maintain against the ravages of the worst of modernity, whilst keeping up with some of the best of it (where many of the rest of us have succumbed to other seductive and ultimately disappointing influences).
I thank my in-laws for this opportunity to share Portugal’s ‘Good Life’, and they seem to like it, comparing it favourably to what’s going on ‘back home’, where we all ultimately came from. They affirm the decision their daughter and I made some years ago to come here, as difficult as that separation was at the time. Glasses raised, we toast our reunion and enjoy Portugal’s Vida Boa.
I’ll finish with some small print, if I may. I feel obliged and, to avoid disappointment, must warn you that this Vida Boa I speak of is not available on demand. No. Just like the analogy of the ‘mysterious maiden’ that I have spoken of before, where this country reveals herself to you, somewhat coyly and not in one, all-at-once, play for your affection, this Vida Boa takes time and the right approach.
I’m not sure if Germany has its own version of the Dolce Vita, La Vie En Rose or Vida Boa, but I do know they have gifted us with one or two wise philosophers over the years, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who said: “The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.”
I also don’t know if Goethe ever visited Portugal, perhaps the Algarve as many Germans like to. Whether he did or not, he certainly seemed to know how to tune in to our Vida Boa. First commit yourself. Then make a decision to have the greatest life here. Remember your dream, your dreams, and let the Vida Boa have its way with you.
“Begin it” and allow Portuguese Providence to bless you in ways you’ve longed for that I trust will show themselves to you, one ordinary day, in an extraordinary way – like when my in-laws came to stay.
By Carl Munson
Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!
