Mature Flneur

In the aftermath of the pandemic, author Tim Ward and his wife, Teresa, decided to leave their home and professional careers in the US to spend a year in Europe as flneurs. The French word "flneur" means one who wanders without purpose, observing society. As the French literary critic Sainte-Beuve explained it, to flne is the very opposite of doing nothing. Indeed, it is to give yourself the gift of time: permission to live an unstructured life and, by so doing, discover something about the world, and about yourself.