Perspective Requires Much Consideration

"The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it."  

Marcus Aurelius

    I picked up a neighbor to give him a ride part of the way to work this morning. I often do this and we mostly talk about the weather, or he does and I listen because I think each day's weather is interesting. Today he talked about a job posting and that it only paid $10 hour. He griped about it and the sad state of affairs in America and had told the interviewer that times were changing and soon it would be $15. Perhaps so, but I imagine it didn't further his cause.

    It got me to thinking of my recent experiences in Hungary where I was surprised that the American dollar bought so much more than the Hungarian populace could afford. They would, perhaps, be excited about $10 an hour instead of looking for more from the get-go.

    We all want to live a good life, a prosperous one. Most do their best to achieve it. Some complain endlessly and get nowhere.

    Personal perspective forms from your own particular point of view and your thoughts are, of course, its basis. Others may sway your thinking. Nasty little inroads of doubt may creep in. But just as often, fresh air may flow through your thoughts when the stars align and things are going well. Life is like swaying on a swing. Sometimes you reach the sky and sometimes your feet get muddy as you hop off.

    "Our life is what our thoughts make it." Yes, it certainly is.

I fear I have been doing a bit more reading than usual...

Passionate Serenity

Cozy and warm, restorative and peaceful

One can find peace in so many places if open to it. Sometimes, the right place falls in your lap unbidden and you take up the reins to embrace it. When they stay with you as an integral part of your being, you know you have found a piece of your soul’s place of rest.

Borgo di Vagli, high in the mountains east of Cortona in Tuscany, has a quiet serenity than soothes and uplifts. How fortunate we are that, this time, there was no room at the inn and it was recommended to us as an alternative.

Our terrace - with a 10th century castle ruins in the distance

Only two places in my life have caused me distress. The home I thought I’d grow old at in Ohio and Borgo di Vagli. After we packed the car on that last day before heading to Spoleto for lunch and Rome for the airplane home, we sat on the terrace, drinking in the view. Reluctant to leave, we relaxed into the sensations and sounds enveloping us until tears formed and hearts welled with exquisite pain.

Driving away, traversing the two km of winding dirt roads with heavy hearts filled with longing, we said arrivederci. 

Till we meet again.

Just Saying...

Six feet and counting...

It's getting mighty deep out there! We can't shovel it fast enough.

Windblown and Buried

New England has so much to offer and it never disappoints. Cold and snow plummets down from the Arctic and buries us in fluffy white snow.

The View from Inside the Mind

When one wonders about the minds of visionaries and you land on the incredible art created by Van Gogh’s supposedly disturbed mind, one can only be reminded that no two people see the world in the same way. Some only take in the surface and others see more deeply.

Van Gogh's Starry Night

Time-lapse photography while stargazing in Atacama Desert, Chile

Adhemar Duro Getty Images