Verona: December 26, 2017
Day 098 of “Something You Protect”
I learned there was a day of celebration after Christmas in Italy, The Day of Santo Stefano. This meant there was another party for us.
It was beautiful to meet other parts of the family, and it was easy to overeat. It was the biggest lunch of my life. I was made to try another certain liquor after just finishing my final glass of wine. This took me over the top. Thankfully, we left to visit Verona. Between the food and the conversation, I burned out and needed to be alone.
We parked atop a hill to see the city. The clouds were low and coating the red buildings, making things begin to glow as the evening drew on. They sharpened our focus on the city, and it was truly beautiful. I stood on the wall of the cliff and stared at the river and Verona.
Someone said sarcastically, “aren’t we lucky with this weather.”
I responded frankly, “yes, I am.” I didn’t leave right away as they moved on. We passed the arena, the main piazzas, and we found Dante. The cool air refreshed me.
Driving home, Mimi asked me if my trip here had strengthened my will in returning.
Here is what I found:
Returning home was still part of adventure. It was easy to forget that this was true, and it would be easy to ignore this. In travel, there was so much forward-moving energy. Meaning, there was an easy, accessible sense of ambition. The secrets of life seemed to be behind every corner, and when you didn’t find them, there was something else there for you anyway. “Normal life” lacked this thrill. “Normal life” seemed to have a way of bleeding out the importance of our lives, of making things boring and pointless or redundant. But “normal life” didn’t have to be banal or complacent. There was always something to learn or relearn. I had goals. I had things I wanted to do. In this way, I was ready to begin my life back home.
What I must do, I told Mimi, was find a way to protect this energy, what I learned. He nodded his head and added, “yes, to protect the enthusiasm.” No other word fit more for this situation than enthusiasm. The power of life came from enthusiasm. The “threat” of normality was only a threat if life was without enthusiasm. This was true as much as it was something you protect.
More soon,
Trevor