Doing nothing, time passes — even if you do nothing, time will pass anyway. So you might as well do something, because the time will be spent regardless.
This deceptively simple Piedmontese proverb carries two messages simultaneously. The first is a counsel against procrastination: time passes whether you act or not, so you might as well act. The second is a gentler wisdom: even in periods of apparent inactivity — illness, grief, unemployment, waiting — time is passing, and with it, change is coming. The proverb consoles the person who feels stuck by pointing out that time is doing its work invisibly. In the slow seasons of the agricultural year, when there was genuinely little to do in the fields, this proverb accompanied the winter evenings: the time passes, the spring will come, nothing is permanent. In contemporary Turin it is used both as a goad to action and as a comfort to those waiting for change.
Piedmontese proverb reflecting both the agricultural rhythm of the seasons (when waiting was genuinely part of the work) and the universal observation about time's passage.
A Turin career counsellor to a client who cannot decide
— Non so cosa fare. — A faria gneuit, al temp a passa — e nel frattempo qualcun altro prende il tuo posto. Decidi.
— I do not know what to do. — Doing nothing, time passes — and meanwhile someone else takes your place. Decide.
A Piedmontese widow in the first months of grief
Piango ancora ogni giorno. Ma a faria gneuit, al temp a passa — lentamente, qualcosa cambia. Almeno mi dicono così.
I still cry every day. But doing nothing, time passes — slowly, something changes. At least that is what they tell me.
A Langhe winemaker during the waiting period of barrel ageing
Adesso posso solo aspettare. A faria gneuit, al temp a passa — e il Barolo si fa da solo nel frattempo.
Now I can only wait. Doing nothing, time passes — and the Barolo makes itself in the meantime.
A Torinese retiree on the first weeks of retirement
All'inizio non sapevo cosa fare. A faria gneuit, al temp a passa — poi ho trovato il ritmo e adesso non mi basta mai.
At first I did not know what to do. Doing nothing, time passes — then I found the rhythm and now there is never enough of it.