Our meeting with everyone in Levanto, Italy went so well. What a pleasure to see everyone together again! My stress level with feeling poorly and Mom failing at home was very high but I was determined to have a wonderful rich meeting with everyone. I managed it. The first night the group had separated into gender groups, surprisingly. I wondered into the “mens” room and they were clearly bonding and booted me out. In the hallway a huge circle of women were deeply into reconnecting. I stood to speak to them and within minutes the women power seduced me and I was confessing all my woes! But they took me in, comforted me and assured me it was perfectly fine to tell them how I really was- they preferred it. So I thank those young women for their warmth. The next morning a huge palm was laid across our doorway in the hostel (former monastery) and I did feel blessed. The students had a morning meeting with me each day and then I met with pairs for an hour all afternoon. It was a full two days but the work we did on the outlines for their projects made it worthwhile. Everyone participated in an installation I made of stones by adding one they brought from their travels- it was a meaningful ritual for me and I think the students as well.
Levanto finished, we were actually free to continue a journey of our own. I wanted to try to finish this out- the semester had been so successful in the academic program. But after The theft of Kevin's briefcase and his mother’s death Oct 19, we already had some real sadness on the journey. My mother fell in late September and had clearly taken a turn for the worse all term, though she was back in her home, finally consenting to full time help. And then why wasn’t I getting better? I still felt in a dilemma how to proceed. Kevin wanted to see Venice so we headed there and hoped for the best.
I don't have time for pictures but did post them on Facebook!
No comments:
Post a Comment