Posted in Expat in Italy, Italy, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged fear of failure, fear of success, Italy, Spaghetti theory, travel on January 28, 2012| 10 Comments »
possibility, an odd thing happened – I began to experience a disbelief that I could actually get what I want, followed by a paralyzing fear that perhaps once I get it, I might not want it any longer! Here I am, standing on the precipice of my dream coming true and finding myself in such a discombobulated state of mind. Of course you’ve heard of a fear of failure, but did you know that some folks actually suffer from a fear of success? After all the obsessing and preoccupation, could I honestly be afraid of crossing the finish line? …Nope, don’t think so.
Teetering atop the high-dive, I am ready to take the plunge into the deep-end. There is no way in hell I’m going to come this close to the prize, only to turn in retreat before getting my just desserts. I owe it to myself and to the many friends who have already blazed the trail abroad or who are taking up the rear. I am not so special. I am only one of many dreamers of an Italian life.
Posted in Italy, Orvieto, Travel, tagged Birthdays, father time, John Glenn, Woody Allen on January 15, 2012| 9 Comments »
“There is still no cure for the common birthday.” – John Glenn
Birthdays always bring me down. It’s not my advancing age that annoys me so much (although I’m not thrilled about the fact I can no longer realistically “double” my age). As “that” time of year approaches I begin to experience a weird sensation of anxiety and doom collecting in my stomach. Really, as far back as I can remember birthday wishes have embarrassed and flustered me. I hate to appear ungracious, but I’m uncomfortable being acknowledged and congratulated for an event that I had absolutely nothing to do with. I feel the same way when complimented about my green eyes – it’s strange to accept credit for something that took no effort on my part to achieve.
“You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.” – Woody Allen
Birthdays are a time-stamp underscoring the warp speed at which life travels. It’s not death I fear – I am afraid of wasting a single minute of the life that has been allotted to me. I figure that by taking a “head in the sand” approach, ignoring the upcoming anniversary and essentially glossing-over the entire celebration by refusing to acknowledge the passing of days on the calendar, I may be able to cheat the clock. Remember the saying, “You can’t fool Mother Nature”? Well, maybe I can outsmart Father Time?
Posted in Italy, Travel, tagged Bootsnall, Commissario Montalbano, Corleone, Janus on January 7, 2012| 3 Comments »
“New Year’s Day…now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” – Mark Twain
As far back as the Babylonians, human beings have been making resolutions for the new year. The ancient Romans offered promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. We are one week into 2012 and already 88% of us have broken our new year’s resolutions. Statistically only 46% of us will keep our vows past the six month mark. Honestly, I’ll be lucky if my annual reforms survive until mid-February. I’ve decided that the problem doesn’t necessarily lie with the failure of the “resolution-maker” as much as it rests on the aspirations themselves; no one really wants to keep a promise designed to squish the fun out of life. It’s important to note that not all resolutions are created equal and therefore, it’s no wonder that travel is in the top five of the most popular items on everyone’s “bucket list” this year.
My Checklist to Paradise
Alright, so I am not the most adventurous traveler that ever lived. It’s true that my recent explorations have been confined to movements within the borders of a country shaped like footwear. I agree that it would be good for me to venture outside of my comfort zone – breaking free from the Umbrian ties that bind me. To this end, on the top of my “2012 Travel List” is “Make a pilgrimage to Sicily”.
Considering all the time I’ve spent in Italy these last 8 years, it’s shameful that I’ve never set foot on the island home of my ancestors or, for that matter, in the town of my grandfather’s birth. Situated approximately 75 kilometers from Palermo is the city of Corleone, Italy. Yes, that Corleone. You can see why I’ve been putting it off – it’s an intimidating proposition. Armed (no pun intended) with my documentation, photos of my Nonni and a list of Sicilian phraseology extracted from episodes of Commissario Montalbano, I plan to set out for the motherland and see who and what I discover. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen…? Boh.
“Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.” — John Lennon
Before you know it, it will be 2013. Go ahead and declare you independence from the mundane and take a break from
the humdrum. Pack your suitcase, grab your passport and head to the nearest airport. Open your aperture for a wider view, cast-off the ball and chain of responsibility and get your Marco Polo on. Listen to the advice of the winged goddess of Greek mythology Nike when she says to, “Just Do It”…tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…
This week Bootsnall is kicking off a new weekly event called the Indie Travel Challenge, that will last for all of 2012! Much like their 30 Days of Indie Travel project, Bootsnall invites bloggers from all over the world to participate. This week’s prompt: Resolutions.
by Toni DeBella
Posted in Italy, Orvieto, Travel on January 1, 2012| 8 Comments »
As I sit here in my apartment on New Year’s Eve with a candlelit dinner, a glass of Moscato d’Asti and the computer on my lap, I am feeling quite optimistic about the future. An email unexpectedly arrives from the host of my blog giving me statistical updates about my year of blogging in 2011 and it says the following:
“The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,200 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.”
I am embarrassed to admit that my first thought regarding this information was how nice it would have been if the odometer could have rolled over to 10,000 views by midnight. Fortunately I caught myself in my moment of greed and selfishness – reminded of the fact that 9,200 people actually visited my sight, either on purpose or by accident, representing 9,199 more people than I could have ever hoped or imagined would. Some of you just stopped by one time while others are now regular email subscribers, traveling along with me on my journey. However you came to Orvieto or Bust, I am really very happy and grateful that you were here. It is about quality not quantity.
“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul” – G. K. Chesterton
My friends Suzee and "Yogi" on our New Year's Day Hike
On New Year’s Day in particular we are in “reflection-mode” – making promises that we may or may not keep and looking backward and forward at the same time. 2011 was a year of monumental global change. If the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement have taught us anything it is that human beings collectively are capable of creating miracles. Maybe this phenomenon works the same way in our daily lives – all of our accomplishments and victories are not achieved in a vacuum – others were there to help us along, either directly or in the spirit of solidarity. If I believe this to be true, and I do, then I can no longer hold onto the empty fear that there is a possibility I will grow old alone. If we are all residents of Planet Earth then we are in it together and for the long haul. It is all in how you look at it and I prefer to look at it just this way. Peace, love and serenity in 2012!
Toni DeBella
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