Reflections on My 40 Years in Umbria

Today was one of those days....A day when you see what you see every day but you see it with "occhi nuovi" - with "new eyes" - with the emotional response that usually only "first time" visions get. We have had some unstable weather this week and some long-overdue rain. This afternoon the muggy southern wind changed to a lighter northrn breeze and the landscape, renewed from the rain, smiled and laughed.

Was it that my heart was a glow for several special reasons, was it a pervading sense of leisure, was it the deep satisfaction of pleased guests and their exuding enthusiasm, was it simply the better weather? Or was it that as I moved about the inn, the glorious views unfolded in all their beauty beyond every window and it was if I were seeing this beauty for the first time: the oleanders seemed brighter, the pool bluer, the terracotta statues more weathered, the lawns greener, the sky a deeper cobalt blue, the geraniums more vigorous...and the valley far more gorgeous. I felt a strong emotion as if I were seeing it through a new lense, a filtered lense. But it was simply a state of mind which allowed me to see the usual things with "occhi nuovi" - with new eyes. This ability is one of the greatest gifts, a gift I treasure!!!!!