Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category
The Signs of Spring in Calabria
Even though you couldn’t tell from yesterday’s cold, windy, rainy Pasquetta weather, primavera is definitely here in Calabria, and do you know how I know?
From the flowers on the trees.
I’ve always loved the season of spring and its gorgeous gifts, but before living here I didn’t pay much attention to what blooms when or even really which flowers belong to which trees.
Now I have the routine down and look forward to it every year, which you might be able to tell from my posting about the first almond blossoms–here are last year’s and remember these from January?
Yes, the almond tree (il mandorlo) always flowers first.
Next comes the apricot tree (l’albicocco):
Then the plum tree (il prugno):
And finally the peach tree (il pesco):
Watching this cycle with anticipation and excitement every year is so soothing to me–knowing that, without fail, these blossoms will usher in the new season, new growth, new opportunities, new possibilities.
Also? The figs are coming! The figs are coming!
I just love the sweet breath of inspiration that spring provides, don’t you?
Dreaming About the Meaning of Life
I had a different post planned for today (come back tomorrow for more Sicilian adventures–sneak preview in my Flickr set!), but this morning I woke up after having a most interesting exchange with a random bearded man in un sogno–a dream.
In italiano.
We were in a souvenir store, and he was near the back listening to my conversation with the woman clerk about what I’m doing in Calabria.
He walked towards us, rubbing his hands together, turned to me, and said:
Cara signorina, mi dice, tra un Papa e un povero,
chi passa la vita migliore?
[Dear miss, tell me, between a Pope and a poor man,
who lives the better life?]
I paused, looked up to my left then into his dark eyes, and responded:
Caro Signore, questa non è la domanda.
La domanda è . . . chi ha apprezzato la vita di più?
[Dear sir, that’s not the question.
The question is . . . who has appreciated life more?]
When I told P about my dream and he said simply, “Hai risposto giusto.”
You answered correctly.
With all of this churning through my head, I took off for my morning walk with the pooches, and guarda!
The first margherita of the season:
Life is good.
Have a fabulous week my peeps.
inspiration on the golf course
I’m not a golfer or golf fan, but some stories transcend sports:
Legally blind, 92-year-old nails hole-in-1
On January 10, Leo Fiyalko used his five iron to drive the ball 110 yards and straight into the fifth hole of the Cove Cay Country Club in Clearwater, Florida. Although he’s been golfing for 60 years, this was Fiyalko’s first hole-in-one–and he didn’t know he had accomplished it until he walked up to the hole in search of the ball.
Fiyalko has macular degeneration, a disease that destroys the macula, the part of the eye that allows us to see fine detail. According to Yale University research, as many as 10 million Americans are affected by the disease and 1 million of those are legally blind like Fiyalko–indeed, macular degeneration has left Fiyalko with only peripheral vision in his right eye.
Of his amazing shot, Fiyalko said, “I was just trying to put the ball on the green.”
This inspiring story reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Les Brown:
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.
P.S. Happy Groundhog Day!
*UPDATE: One of our most beloved central Pennsylvanians
PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL HAS SEEN HIS SHADOW.
Sorry to say that means 6 more weeks of winter.
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[tags] golf, golfing, hole-in-one, leo fiyalko, stars, groundhog day, punxsutawney, punxsutawney phil [/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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