Next week is Sant Jordi, the Catalan festival of love, the celebration in which books are distributed like kisses. And it seems like a very opportune moment to see how couples relate in a world in which the future is upon us every day, but, first of all, thank you very much for welcoming Vivo's first newsletter. I am very happy, especially with the responses to the survey, because, as I already mentioned, one of the central ideas of this newsletter is that it serves as a space for exchange and opinion for the channel's community. So I'm going to start today's story with a summary of your impressions about whether you need to take things slower.
Marta Verdet, for example, responds that rather than slowing down her life, she needed to resolve to work less and reflects that the current productive model leads to unhappiness. “When we rest, do we have fun, socialize, take care of our loved ones, read, reflect, or go out to take a deep breath?” the reader asks herself. In this sense, I attach the link to a report that we recently published about the debate on reducing the working day.
Miquel Àngel Puig, for his part, points out that the key is to slow down with balance and enjoy the small and big things while trying not to get nervous. “You don't have to be an island but rather an isthmus from which you control what comes in and what goes out,” he says. Likewise, Josep Garriga denounces the overdose of stimuli that we suffer and believes that the only solution is to self-regulate and be able to prioritize. I suggest here two articles that will allow us to delve into these ideas that have been shared with us.
And, to close this section, a comment from Jorge Salvador, who draws attention to the difficulty that many people have, and expressly cites retirees and employees in routine jobs, to “find activities or interests that fill life.” And he asks that, in addition to treating stress and life without pause, we report on ailments such as apathy or dysthymia. We have already written some things about it and I give a couple of examples here, and we have also addressed more serious issues such as depression, but we will certainly take note of it for future articles.
Below, in the Inspirations section, I will propose this week's survey, but remember that any response must be directed to the address vivo@lavanguardia.es. Thank you to those who have already done so and I appreciate your understanding in advance because each week I will only be able to present a selection and a summary of the emails received.
And change the subject. Sant Jordi was the Catalan equivalent of Valentine's Day long before Valentine's Day became popular. But times are changing and for more than a decade, making acquaintances or flirting has been a technological issue, for better or worse, and whoever encourages ingenuity has a better chance of success. This month we have reported Live on the initiatives that groups of women have undertaken on social networks to stop these hot lovers who maintain several relationships at the same time. Abril Phillips, our channel's relationship specialist, has also drawn the evolution of the eternal dilemma of how couples keep accounts, separately or together.
● The more sex, the better? Upbringing, the hectic pace of life, the lack of quality time as a couple, mood swings and many other factors affect the frequency of sexual activity. But lack of desire in a partner is not always indicative of problems.
● Anatomy of a fall. Justine Triet's successful film, winner of the Oscar for best original screenplay, is a masterful chronicle of a mysterious death, but also the dissection of the deterioration of a marriage. University professors José Manuel Rey and Jorge Herrera analyze it from a mathematical prism in an original article.
● Is love a thing for two? The last CIS survey that asked about the topic showed that 47.6% of Spaniards believe that they can have several emotional-sexual relationships at the same time. But, like all relationships, polyamory also faces its challenges.
● Six emotional wounds. Almost all the processes that lead to the need for psychological help find their roots in one of the six afflictions that arise in childhood. It's good to know what they are.
● In old age, marathons. Many older adults who have practiced little sport throughout their lives start running in adulthood to try to increase their longevity. And some, with or without prior experience, dare to even take on the most demanding races. These are his reflections.
● Is it the life we want? The high school teacher and author of the book A Philosophy of Resistance speaks for Vivo about the dictatorship of emotions that is leading us to seem like "enemies of each other."
● Have fun and be free. That is the main message that can be extracted from the show that the creator Jean Paul Gaultier has brought to the Barcelona Coliseum. This week I went to see the excellent Fashion Freek Show, a visual and sound memoir of a time of transgression more relevant than ever. At first it seems like an exercise in egomania, but due to the public's reaction it is interpreted as idolatry, before we realize that, deep down, it is an exhibition of charisma.
● A spa instead of going out for drinks. I recommend this report from The Guardian which shows how British tourists are going from demanding bar-hopping holidays to preferring relaxing retreats. A recommended read for professionals in the tourism sector and for those of us interested in social trends.
● The question. The new survey, as advanced before. Do you think we kiss less? Because? Last week, coinciding with International Kissing Day, we published an article that concluded that frequency was not related to age but to the duration of the relationship. Send the answers vivo@lavanguardia.es, please. I await your opinions.
