What a
summer! Our children treated us to two weeks in Italy to celebrate
our 50th
wedding anniversary. Our whole family – Rebecca, Dan and little Gus
as well as Timothy and Johanna – spent the first week in a villa
near Cortona in Tuscany. The second week, Jean and I set off by
ourselves, traveling to the cities of Cinque Terre1,
Pisa, Florence and Rome.
I was
awed by the beauty of the country and by the Renaissance art of
Florence and Rome. I was further blessed spending time with our
family and with Jean. This alone made the trip worthwhile.
Yet I
received something else from the trip for which I wasn't prepared. This was our
involvement with the people of Italy. These experiences humanized
the trip and helped me appreciate at a deeper level what it means to
Live With Soul. I'd like to share a few of these experiences with
you.
I
remember mornings hiking up to the walled city of Cortona2.
The road was bordered by trees in the valley and by vineyards and
olive groves as we ascended. The base of the city wall dated back to
Etruscans times (5th
century BCE) while the remainder was added in the 3rd century after
the Roman conquest3.
Upon reaching the city, we entered by one of the four gates and
proceeded down narrow streets, past ancient buildings, to Bar Cafe
Signorelli, where we enjoyed our morning coffee. Claudio, the owner,
would greet me with a friendly “Ciao,” while bringing my decaf
espresso with cream. Although his limited English and my
non-existent Italian, made conversation difficult, I felt a special
bond with him. The day we left he hugged me saying “Arrivederci.”
Jean
and I spent two wonderful nights with
Gabriele at Stella
Della Marina,
a 10 room
hotel in Monterosso (Cinque Terre). It was here that I lost my
credit card to a pick-pocket. I told Gabriele that he was truly the
angel Gabriel, as he offered me his business phone for the 1½ hour
conversation required to obtain a replacement credit card. His hotel
is like a bed and breakfast, because he is both the proprietor and
staff. His morning meals, served on the roof-top of the hotel
overlooking the sea, were one of the high-points of our trip.
The
loss of my credit card enabled another meeting, this one with a
wonderful woman in Riomaggiore (Cinque Terre). We were about to
purchase a book in her shop when I realized my credit card was
missing. She understood immediately what had happened and gave me
the book. She then said, “Most Italians are not like this.”
Jean later returned to thank her for her graciousness and generosity.
With little language in common, they connected at a deep level. The
woman said Jean reminded her of a dear relative.
The
credit card fiasco precipitated yet a third chance meeting. Since
the emergency replacement card could not be used in cash machines,
son, Timothy, wired me money via Western Union. Unfortunately, the
Western Union Webpage is outdated. This resulted in an unplanned
walking tour of Florence. Finding no available Western Union
offices, I finally had the hotel call a distant bank which said they
could handle the transaction. I took a cab to this location and
asked the cabby, Jacobi, a thirty-something young man, to wait for
me. Alas, this bank also would not serve me. Upon learning this,
Jacobi drove me up and down streets in the area searching out Western
Union locations. Although this too proved unsuccessful, I had a
wonderful conversation with him. He said that he was most hopeful
about the new pope. He also indicated that he considered himself a
global citizen. He had learned English by watching YouTube videos.
As we parted, he said he was sorry he couldn't help me.
Our
vacation concluded in Rome. One afternoon we met Shahidul in the
near vacant Ristorante Bar L'Euroea, where he was a waiter. He told
us he was from Bangladesh. His wife had returned home because she
felt excluded due to language and cultural differences. His children
also left because of problems with the education system. It seems we
are all aliens in one sense or another.
We
toured the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. As we queued up
to see these sites, guides separated us into groups according to our
native languages. A woman from Portugal was frantic, because she
couldn't find her group and because she spoke no Italian or English.
Jean used her limited Spanish to find out what the woman wanted.
When she explained her plight, I asked the English speaking guide to
direct her to a group, which she did. In some strange sense, I felt
part of a larger global community in this act.
We
spent our last night in a crowded outdoor restaurant. The staff were
somewhat formal as they waited on us. When the crowd had thinned, I
asked our waiter, Emanuelow, about himself. He told me he had
completed his university degree in the history and philosophy of
science. I said my training was in physics and that I was interested
in the growth of consciousness. We talked further; and he finally
asked if we might exchange email addresses, which we did. It's
curious how many opportunities we have to connect with one another if
we can only see them.
We
finally rendezvoused with Dan, Rebecca and Gus, for our trip home, at Fiumicino - Leonardo da Vinci Airport. We joined the crowds in the passport inspection line and boarded the
plane. As I took my seat, I felt strangely unsettled. Part of me
was preparing for the transition back to my 'real world' in the
United States – Logan Airport, our condo in Woburn, the traffic on
I95, the mundane chores of home life and the news reports of the
stalemate in Congress & warfare in Israel, Syria and Iraq.
Another part of me lingered in Italy – the
rolling hills of Tuscany, the seaport towns of Cinque Terre, the
Renaissance art of Florence and Rome, and the wonderful people we
met.
As I
sit here on a chair in front of Boston King Coffee, at Four Corners,
in Woburn Massachusetts, I remain betwixt and between. I am back
into my old routine. Yet I am not completely back. Perhaps this
time away - yet not quite away - is a portal into a new way of being.
Perhaps I can begin to look around - really look around – truly
seeing those I meet and myself in the process. Things are always
more than they seem. The old is never really old because it is
always changing and evolving, as am I.
Life
is always a journey into a new country. In some sense, I am always
an alien in a strange world. As an alien, I needn't separate myself
in my differentness. I can remain open to new relationships, even
with those people whom I have known. Life is filled with
opportunities for adventure.
As I
look around and imagine people throughout the world, each with his or
her own hopes, fears, pains and joys, I realize that we live a messy
existence - complicated, hurting and fearful. Yet soul shines
through. Perhaps Living With Soul every moment of every day, is the
most radical action we can take as we engage that mysterious presence
that heals and enlivens existence.
1
The Cinque
Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the
Italian
Riviera. It is in the
Liguria
region of Italy, to the west of the city of La
Spezia. "The Five
Lands" comprises five villages: Monterosso
al Mare, Vernazza,
Corniglia,
Manarola,
and Riomaggiore.
The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are
all part of the Cinque
Terre National Park and is
a UNESCO
World
Heritage Site. Over the
centuries, people have carefully built terraces
on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook
the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate
development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars
cannot reach them from the outside. The Cinque Terre area is a very
popular tourist destination.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortona
3 http://www.cortonaweb.net/en/history/07-cortona-walls-gateways-fortress
