These commandments usually touched and made me laugh, but it seems they've become relevant for many of us now. During quarantine, you forget about the rush and start appreciating life and spending time with loved ones. So, friends, let's learn from the Montenegrins how to enjoy life. They've come up with 10 commandments to help us do just that:
1. A person is born already tired and lives to rest.
2. Love your bed as yourself.
3. Rest during the day so that you can sleep peacefully at night.
4. Don't work – work kills.
5. If you see someone resting, help him.
6. Don't do today what you can do tomorrow.
7. Do less than you can, and what you can’t do – transfer to someone else.
8. Salvation in the cool – no one has ever died from rest!
9. Labor brings sickness; don't die young.
10. When you want to work, sit down, wait, the desire will pass.
And one more commandment Bonus:
If you see someone eating and drinking, join in, but if someone is working –, move away and don't interfere.
And you know, Montenegrins really do tacitly follow these – rules: they are never in a hurry and always find time to stop by their favorite cafe in the morning before work and have a cup of coffee (and sometimes a shot of rakia!), discuss the latest news, and read the newspaper.
They know how to enjoy life and appreciate the little things, because they've learned to be content with little. What's most important to a Montenegrin? A home, several children (at least two), and healthy parents. They don't chase careers or spend 20 hours a day at work; everything in their lives is balanced: work, home, and, of course, rest.
Of course, this isn't particularly noticeable on the coast, as there are a lot of foreigners and mixed marriages there, and business is usually in full swing. But once you agree on a job with a Montenegrin, the Montenegrin desire for relaxation comes into its own—he might be very late or not show up at all. Market conditions, of course, are gradually eradicating this Montenegrin trait, as more hard-working foreigners are appearing—such as Albanians, Bosnians, Macedonians, and Russians.
But now, under quarantine and weekend curfew conditions, everyone is under one big, fat "POLAKO" – "slowly, slowly, quietly."
