The Long Road Home: La Via del Silenzio

October 19

What an adventure I’ve been having these last months. There are just so many stories to tell, so many memories etched into my life’s journey; so many moments of exploration and happiness, smiles and laughter…easy living. But LIVING; and, I am just really loving and appreciating every single day. The feeling I have in my heart, soul and spirit is almost indescribable. And all of these things are part of the reason why I’ve been off the radar these last six weeks. I’ve been so busy living and enjoying and learning and, as I like to call it “explorin’ n tourin’” that I either haven’t known how to write about it all or it just seemed like an impossible task…or both.

Isola San Giulio

But I really feel too full of life and happiness to stay silent any longer! I recently visited La Isola San Giulio, a tiny island on Lake Orta, about an hour outside of Milan. The island is so small that there are no cars at all, just boats to get to and from the mainland and one main walking path that takes you in a big loop around the island “village.” Along the path, there were signs that caught my eye and had me thinking the whole time I wandered around…they were definitely a bit random…but they were so simple in their complexity, and so beautiful. And they really made me think as I walked. Each of the following thoughts is written on the sign in Italian, then German, then English and then French:

La Via del Silenzio

The way of the silence.

Listen to the water, the wind, your steps.

*In the silence, you accept and understand.*

*In the silence you receive all.*

Silence is the language of love.

*Silence is the peace of oneself.*

Silence is music and harmony.

Silence is truth and prayer.

(I "starred" my favorites.)

La Via del Silenzio…I love those thoughts and am so grateful for the silence and all that can be found within it…….but, I am also very happy that I found my writing voice again, if even just momentarily.

Angels along La Via del Silenzio

Fast forward to October 30…I just sat down on my bed after spending the last hour cleaning and packing (preparing for my 5^th move in 3 months!) and, bored with Facebook and email (since nothing much is happening there, really!) I wondered what I should do instead and immediately I said to myself matter-of-factly, “it’s time to write.” (Enter smiley face here.) I definitely don’t want to waste this opportunity!

I have thought a lot about my writing (and lack thereof) a lot over the last two months, but most especially these last weeks ; and, I’ve been talking to people about it too. For a good part of the last two silent months, I was really disappointed in myself for not fulfilling that want and need and goal to focus on my writing these first three months in Berlin. I failed. I haven’t even written half the time! But go back to the last sentence of the first paragraph that I wrote on October 19: “I’ve been so busy living and enjoying and learning and, as I like to call it “explorin’ n tourin’” that I either haven’t known how to write about it and/or it just seemed like an impossible task.” As thoughts of disappointment lingered in my head the last week, I thought to myself…what I HAVE been doing is a heck of a lot of photography. Photography was definitely another goal and focus of mine when I thought of how I would be productive during this time in my life…but if I had to put them in order, writing was my priority and photography would be my sub-focus. Thing is…life happened. And guess what? The breeze floated this butterfly into a snap-happy, photography-loving heaven. Berlin is GORGEOUS. I can’t stop taking photos. I see so many beautiful things every single day. I really see beauty everywhere. And I can express myself via photography almost as well as I can via writing. Especially considering that I don’t know how to be exactly brief in my writing…documenting my life with photography the last months has really been an active way for me to creatively process everything. And I’m loving it! It’s impossible to keep up with the editing considering the thousands of photos I’ve already taken…but it’s challenging and fun and exciting and something I can easily share with people back home. That’s one of the great things about having my iPhone with me. Although I can’t use it as a phone (Verizon doesn’t have phones with SIM card capabilities…..at least not that I know of!), I use it every single day to not only take pictures, edit them with Instagram or PixLR, or upload them to Facebook when I’m in a WiFi zone; but, also to write notes and do voice memos for myself to write later. I still have to write up those notes and transcribe the voice memos (which started back in one of my very favorite places from the cross-country road trip this summer: Council Grove, Kansas!!!)….but they are there and they will be made into stories.

See, that’s the thing about me and writing. I am constantly writing in my head. Every day, I write stories and letters, mostly while I’m biking…it’s just that sitting down and actually writing is a whole other story. So, bear with me as I figure it all out for myself and find a balance ;)

In the meantime, if you want to see what’s been up you should check out my Facebook photo albums as they are updated as often as possible and tell a great story in and of themselves. As my cousin, Jaclyn, said to me yesterday, “…photojournalism!”. Love it ;) And I also really love and appreciate how easy Facebook makes it for me to stay connected to people even if I don’t speak or see them…we can still know a little piece of what’s happening in someone else’s life if we use it that way…

That said, I will try to post some pictures up here soon too…promise! A few more from "The Island of Silence" as the island is also known....