Albi – Alberto – Amico – Gioco

My dear little friend Alberto is 7 years old and a whirlwind of energy. One of my favorite sounds in Piegaro is his sweet little voice saying “Lisa chase me” or “Lisa, let’s play soccer” or even out of the midst of a group of children I hear his sing-sing voice “ciao Lisa.” He totally has me charmed, and because I am not as young or graceful as I used to be, generally injured from too much play. Albi is my surprising source of much reflection.

First reflection, how do we stay young and appreciate the gift of play and joy? It is through children we are often reminded of the importance of laughter and joy in our lives, in the world. Scientists say that children laugh 50 times more than adults…and that laughter is one of the healthiest things we do. A big part of biblical teaching is to love our neighbors as ourselves and isn’t that so much easier when we are actively engaged in play?

Second is how to be so open to relationship with people of all ages. As noted earlier, Albi is open to welcoming me when I am the only one to play with, but also when in a group of playmates his own age. He is always ready to greet. The fact that my language barrier is here makes it even more precious to me, what a guy!

Third one that had me thinking for a while was something that I read a few months back, that our personalities are formed by the age of 7. Basically, the essential parts of who we are have been established long before most of us have started thinking about “self” and self analyzing. Long before we start worrying about how others perceive us, we are complete people. It was interesting to reflect that I was either shying away in a corner or dancing about the room, hmmmm perhaps that little bit of science is right…so why worry with all the self-help books, and not just life in our skins to the fullest of our createdness??? Children under 7 do, and their beautiful voices are like magnets inviting us to play and live life in laughter.

When we look at the expanse of time, for those of us who believe in eternity, this time we have on earth is so brief. It seems like it would benefit us all to live it as a child, with abandon, open to the potential of joy around us. As we see children, we should remember that our souls are young, we are learning and growing as children of our eternal God. Forever Young.

How do you enjoy the children in your life?
How/can do you embrace the child you were and are today?
In the great expanse of eternal life, how do you live in child-like wonder and grace?

To Everything There is a Season

Domani, Tomorrow so many things happen, it will be one month since my knee injury and it is not 100%, damn, it is also the day my daughter arrives from Seattle, and it is the first day of the weeks of house blessings leading up to Easter here in Piegaro. My lovely friend Maria brought the itinerary of the streets and/or houses the priest, Don Augusto will be visiting 4 days a week until Easter, it was sad to note that my home will be blessed the day after Katy leaves. But an interesting turn of fate happened so that we could attend the house blessing of my friend Maria, the first death of a person I knew happened and the funeral was today, today was to be the start of the house blessings and I was to be in Florence at the time of Maria’s blessing. To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

The person who passed away was an interesting man of great knowledge who I would talk philosophy with, and when I was looking for an apartment was quick to step forward with an offer of his second home. It would have been nice, but it was another first, the first cheap apartment I ever turned down, because there was more than money asked for in the price of rent. My philosopher friend turned into an aquaintence immediately, pity. If I had moved into the apartment I might now be swiftly looking for another place, while my daughter is here upon his death. To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

My philosopher friend would be counted as my first step toward boldly saying NO when a man acted inappropriately in a rapid fashion. My normal pattern had been to freeze, panic, and take way too much time, effort and fear for my own good. But with a few good friends here, this area of learning during my sabbatical has been taking place. This is a time for healing and recovery that I sorely needed, and God has brought me good friends to guide and support here. Women of multiple generations. Women who would understand that I had more reason to laugh at irony than cry at death this week. To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.

This interesting man is to be missed, he had a quick mind and an easy manner that were endearing values that I honor, respect and will mourn. But as all of us, he had human frailties and hurt or offended people without knowing. I can laugh at the irony of time, I can rejoice at newfound strength that began with him, and I can be sad for his son who I know and other family members who are in mourning. Each life, each death is ripe with a depth of meaning that no one of us can ever comprehend, for no individual ever fully knows the life of another. And yet we are all created in the image of God, we all have free will and sometimes fall short of graceful actions, and we all touch people in many ways. The wonder in this world is how God can use us in life and death to bring forth a myriad of thoughts and emotions and remind us that the lives of others do touch and influence us, even the lives of acquaintances…and that we should remember that whenever we encounter another, as friend, acquaintance but mostly as a fellow child of God. To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.

How have seemingly minor characters in your life touched you profoundly?
Have you ever realized that some little simple action on your part effected another person?
How do you allow all moments in your life, even the darkest, to inform how you move forward with grace and kindness?

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Why Piegaro, Why Not Rome?

She asked a question, a question so many have asked before, “Why Piegaro?” Piegaro is a village of less than 1,500 people, in the middle of the only state in Italy with no coast line, “how did you get here?” My simple first answer is always “God brought me.” With the caveat, of fate. Having lived in a city most of my life, Seattle, people expected if I were to take time away, it would be in a city. But in the end the simple answer to why schedule to stay here for my sabbatical, hopefully much longer, is that it feels like home to me.

Now this is odd to some people, as one friend pointed out, I am in process of learning a new language, an old dog learning a new trick, not easy to do. She suggested I could have gone to the home of many of my ancestors, Ireland, and be able to speak the language. But I arrived here, to a country I never had a desire to go to, Italy, and fell in love with a village and people. There was simply with no need to meet new people and find a new village elsewhere. The village found me through God, providence, whatever… through a congregation member with property here. Here in a little village, almost no one has heard of before, I am taking time to rest, reconnect with spirit and simply be and breathe.

Now, coming from the city several people expected I would take time in Rome while I am here. I was born Catholic, graduated from a Catholic school of theology, and have landed and departed from the Rome airport 3 times. But that is the extent of my time in Rome. One of the reasons I am taking sabbatical away from the United States is that I simply wanted to escape the empirical culture. While I respect each culture has its own values, I no longer feel at home in the culture of the U.S.A. and haven’t for years. Going to Rome, birthplace of the first great western empire, has no draw to me, if it wasn’t the cheapest airport to fly into, I wouldn’t have passed through at all. My apologies to the ladies at Mary’s who hoped I would spend time in Sabbatical in Rome, it just is not my call of faith.
Ah, but northern Umbria, home of Perugino, a teacher of Renaissance artists, is inspiring. The Renaissance, where art, culture, history won out over warriors and established the true Italian language and nation, just miles north of here in Florence, that is a draw. My history professor once said we should take a good look at the buildings in our city, for by their size and architecture you will know what is important to the people there. In Florence it is the cathedrals, the cathedrals with an abundance of art and a magnificence of architecture, built on piazzas where public events have been held for centuries, where the residents come together. People, art and faith all coming together in place, ah, beautiful. I suppose I could have settled in a city like Florence.

But then I came back to why I am on Sabbatical, for a sense of healing and purpose, and a sense of place, a place like Home. When I was in high school and a bit beyond I lived in a small town in New Mexico, there were 9 people in my graduating class. 5 years after high school, I returned for a wedding and had a dear young man ask me when I was coming home, he was the first, and the last man to invite me “home.” I said after college, and never came back. But the reality that small town life, where everyone knows everyone, and a bit too much of everyone’s business really did feel like home to me has been floating in the back of my mind ever since. I left that place when I needed to make hard choices in my life and was too afraid to do them, I left to get lost in the city. And yet in every part of the city I realized I could find small community without trying hard, for there were always us who wanted, who desired a more intimate way of living.

Why Piegaro, simply put, it is a great mystery of life how I got here, but not a mystery why I want to stay. It is a more intimate community, it is a place where people know who I am, and I am getting to know who they are very rapidly. It is not a place of empire, but where my friends talk about their fears of what is happening in Lybia with the military of Italy taking part with the U.S. and other western forces in yet one more armed conflict. Where this is not America and we are not a million miles away from the violence that is happening. It grieves me to hear of people who know that Ghaddafi’s son attending college in Perugia, a town we can see from the rooftop deck here. To know that people worry about missiles and bombs that could be hurled here easily. To know friends who long for the same peace on earth that Jesus spoke of in the same context as me, who ask the same question, when will we love our neighbor? It is both sad and comforting to have my friends here want to pray with me for peace in this region, for my friends who like me are tired and sad for all the oil wars.

I didn’t come for empires and great cities, I came for friends who share a heart for God and peace, and who know this beautiful place they call home, Piegaro.
Do you have a place you call home?
What makes it home for you?
How do you honor your home and the different places and cultures others call home?
How do you love your neighbors in and around home…and those far away?

La Bella Luna - Chasing the Beautiful Moon

Because of the magic of February having 28 days, the arrival of the full moon on the weekend two months in a row is happening this year. Last month I chased the moon around the village of Piegaro, capturing photos among the sweet buildings and landscape. This month I am holed up in the apartment and decided that should not, and would not keep me from chasing the moon again. In fact it gives a new perspective both on the apartment and the notion that how we pursue the things we seek.

Last month was the first time I had glimpsed the full moon over our lovely town, in my time here prior it has always been obscured by clouds, if it was present at all during my visits. I love the sight of the glowing moon, a grand reminder of awesome beauty that despite its consistent presence, still can awaken something new, can offer us a sense of wonder. To see within the world and within people we know the unique beauty that is there is a gift, a gift that is often taken for granted.

In the movie “Moonstruck” there is a wonderful story told of “Cosmo’s moon” how one character, Cosmo, took advantage of a night of a gloriously large full moon to romance his sweetheart Rose. It is a bittersweet story because Cosmo no longer romances Rose, and others in the movie are so very captivated by love and romance and the beautiful full moon. It is precisely this that I think of when visions of awesome beauty float in and out of our lives with consistency, are we apt to see and marvel in the wonder or barely notice the existence of beauty?

Last month I was so caught up in the wonder of not only the beauty of the moon, but the knowledge that I was soon to be moving into my first home in Piegaro. It was sooooooo easy to be swept up in the romance of the evenings of beauty, to enjoy the adventure of chasing the moon. This month I am recovering in the confines of my new home…and yet…and yet…that beauty, that bella luna is still so ever present. It reminds me of one special beauty of this new home, that there are windows on the village and hills on three sides, that I can chase the moon for an evening from within my own home.

So often people are drawn to unique and different experiences to find beauty and excitement. But the 28 day consistency of the appearance of the moon, and a sense of beauty of home are reminders that the wonder and awesomeness we often seek is so close at hand, sometimes so close we fail to notice them. Sometimes with such regularity that we have lost the sense of beauty that was, that is, and that will always be there.

How can you take time to wonder at the beauty that surprises you?
How can you name and hold onto the beauty that is consistent in your life?
How do you see the beauty that is ever-present within yourself, no matter where in the world you are?

What Keeps Us Trapped?

O.k. so I am getting cabin fever like it is nobody’s business. Because I can’t sit still it has taken my dumb knee over 3 weeks to heal instead of one week. I feel totally trapped now because I MUST get better within 5 days, before my daughter arrives. What is keeping me trapped in this instance is my own body via injury, unfortunately not enough so that I have stopped escaping to venture out and down the 3 flights of stairs and into the village below, thusly my leg is still injured after WAY too long of time. Rest, that is all it needs. Basically I have trapped myself for far too long because I didn’t stay put for a shorter amount of time.

But I think this is a great way of looking how so many problems happen in our lives. Instead of looking at a situation positively, “Oh boy, I get to take a much needed rest!” it becomes a time of being trapped. In the mindset of being trapped it is easy to desire to escape, to break free….of bonds that aren’t really bonds at all. For me this really struck home when I was sitting at the desk in the early morning chatting with my son on skype, he could see out the window behind me, through the bars of the terrace over the tiled roofs of the homes across the way and to the green rolling hills and great big sky overhead. He says, “You have a terrace with a view, you can just sit out there all day long and look at Italy, I’m on my way!” As I keep feeling trapped on the 3rd floor he is seeing the beauty of the world outside my self-imposed “cell” as a panorama to be savored and enjoyed.

One of the architectural details here is that so many lower windows have bars, many put in place before there were glass pane to keep the critters out. With the patina of years of rust and age, they are actually quite pretty. These barriers to keep out unwanted guests are not meant to imprison anyone. As we face situations in our lives that need addressing, sometimes we will need appropriate barriers, if I had fully rested the first week of my injury instead of moving to a new home and periodically escaping to go see friends and attend events I would have been up and dancing after a week. It is now 3 weeks, and I am realizing how foolish it was not to simply follow the guidance of my many friends, that I have in fact trapped myself.

So today, tomorrow and hopefully all better by Sunday, but still it is God’s Day, I will rest, I will stay on the 3rd floor overlooking the beauty of Italy, watching the many colorful species of birds and enjoy the gift of the day. Hopefully I will remember that in God I am free, even if I am staying put for a few days. To see even this time as a gift.

O.k. so I have ranted on this one before, It is becoming my mantra for the next few days, this time I’m going to do it, this time I am staying put….this time….
Have you ever found yourself in a self made prison?
What did or will it take to escape for you?
How do you see life as opportunities instead of barriers?

Casino di Piegaro - A Mess of Mortar, Bricks and Stones

The villages of Umbria are so beautiful, and as you travel from one to another you will see uniqueness in style and form of each village. Cita di la Pieve is red brick, Todi is grey stone and my beloved Piegaro is a casino, not the kind you gamble in, but in Italian casino is mess. The village is a most beautiful mess of stucco, various bricks of various colors and even a mish-mash of modern thrown into the old part of town. This is not as evident in other villages I have seen, but make this town very cozy to me.

On any given day you will see a stone mason working on a building, fixing steps, correcting drainage, or even putting in a new roof. Yes, masons on the roof, not only do you have tile roofing, but most attic floors are cement, and the supporting structure must be strong, so also masonry. I was surprised the first time I walked into our attic here and noticed the cement floor and ours is a newer apartment.

The buildings here in Piegaro are built to last, but more than that, when there are problems, or simply adjustments to be made in architecture, rather than tearing out a wall, it is simply modified with suitable material, whether it matches or not. Then of course you have the reality that world war II hit this town hard, with the city hall being blown up and other damage being incurred. But here it is, all put back together with stone here, red brick there, stucco and grey brick over yonder.

It is mindful to me of the mess of life, it is never what we think it is going to be, never uniform, neat and tidy at all time. Now, I must compliment the masons in this town, because all these materials come together with amazing form as well as function. Which is when I see we live our lives best as well, when things must be changed or adjusted, when we go through trauma (good or bad), to keep putting the walls back up with the materials at hand and going on with life is beautiful. Just as Piegaro, in its amazing mess of materials is simply beautiful. There are times I like to sit and just notice how the round rocks and square bricks of assorted sizes have been put together so well as all the bricks are squared and tidy, this is work that has been done with care.

Life is going to throw us surprises, changes that need to happen, one of the most important things we do is to take care to rebuild well. To know that even messes can be beautiful, and be a comforting place to call home. This is especially welcoming to me, as it has been spoken of multiple times by friends in Piegaro that I am a bit of a mess, una casino…the first few weeks messing about with my Italian paperwork, my two injuries while playing with Alberto, and my various misadventures with communications, unwanted attention, and learning the culture. I am a big mess and totally loving my choice of homes here in Italy, Piegaro, a molta bella casino!!! A very beautiful mess!!! May we all continue to rebuild with care!
How do you rebuild with care and love the mess that is life, for the beauty it has been created to be?
"The moment you come to trust chaos, you see God clearly. Chaos is divine order, versus human order. Change is divine order, versus human order. When the chaos becomes safety to you, then you know you're seeing God clearly." - Caroline Myss, "Spiritual Madness: The Necessity of Meeting God in Darkness"

HOLY DAYS - FESTA – Holidays and Feast Days

If I were in America today I would be enjoying at some point a drink to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with some friend or another. I remember asking my friend Ethna, who comes from Ireland, how they celebrate there, she said it is a Saint’s feast day and usually the family has a big mid-day meal and attend church sometime during the day. A far cry from the American drinkfest, although in Dublin it is now becoming a drinking holiday as well. Here in Piegaro it is the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, and it too is a feast day. Following the mornings festivities throughout the country in all the villages, families everywhere had feasts. One of the treats of this visit is that I am pretty sure I would not have known about the 150th anniversary, much less had the opportunity to celebrate if I had not been here. To be invited and welcomed into family and community here has been a great blessing and reminder to CELEBRATE!!!

I am very blessed to have been adopted into a family here and to have enjoyed a lovely meal with them. Lila’s family is different, yet mostly so similar to mine in America it is sometimes startling. There are not just family members around the table, but those, like myself who have been adopted into the family. But the celebration with food to me is the most wonderful thing of all. It displays the abundance of God in the fullest, an abundance of people, an abundance of food, and an abundance of conversation. As is typical anywhere, I get lost between 2 or three conversations, losing myself even more here since I can’t catch all the words, yet the interest in one another is similar and very comforting, it is in these relationships that the celebration is truly important.

What makes a holiday holy always seems to be the same things, giving thanks to God, sharing in the abundance of God, and spending time loving others; be it family, extended family or friends. One of my joys this day was to have taken many photos of the village celebration and then have the wonderful family of the sindico (mayor) come by the pub as I downloaded pictures and Laura, the wife of the sindico and a facebook friend not only bought me a drink, but told me about another photo opportunity. Relationships just keep growing through our connections on holidays, via sharing. Truly holy experience as neighbors grow in numbers.

How do you keep holy days holy?
How can you take the opportunity to accept and give invitations for growing relationships in even the smallest of holidays?
How can you celebrate with others who may be celebrating things you know