A Morning in the Park

December 11, 2022 - Milan

I just found this journal entry from last winter when I was traveling in Milan. I think it’s quite nice, and wanted to share the moment with you.

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December 11, 2022 - Milan

“There are people wandering through the park beneath a mix of colored and bare trees. The sun shines brightly as a child’s worried cry pierces the tranquility. Men speak in Italian nearby and a dog barks in the distance. It’s warm, and the sunshine feels like a cheek pressed to mine, close, intimate. A small child wrapped in bright red clothes toddles, marveling at the existence of a playground. A puppy sniffs at my shoes. It’s a brilliant morning to love life, and all is well in the world. There’s a stillness punctuated by eternal movement; a reminder of the paradox that is life; peace and movement, ease and transition, the constance of eternal existence. The child is assisted into a swing, and giggles in marvelous awe. “Ooooooh,” it says. If only we could all exist like that, ordinary life would become beautiful, or should I say, that we would see the beauty. It reminds me of the quote from Rob Bell: Moses doesn’t take his shoes off because the ground became sacred, it always had been, Moses simply hadn’t noticed before (paraphrased). Life is truly special; a gift; a sacred gift to be shared and treasured by all.

My inside is a reflection of this piece. I find myself able to exist today, to treasure the slowness that always is, but is not always appreciated. Many children swing now, with fathers, mothers, and grandparents. It is a beautiful thing to watch the joy with which the littlest ones live, and the attentiveness of the elders who bring that shared joy into the forefront of their own lives. That inspires me. Thank you for your intentions, and thank you life for speaking into existence existence itself. What a privilege to witness this unfolding. What a privilege to exist within it.”

I find that there is always something to witness in the moment that carries with it a sense of peace and wonder. There is always something to see or hear or feel that will bring me into the moment. Right now: my beige curtains are blowing in the light breeze, the sound of jazz piano trickles through the room, breathe comes in and out, a bird flies by my open window… There are things happening always. Life is existing outside our minds. This is a gift, if we let it be.

More to come soon,
- Faolan

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