Saturday was one of those remarkable days….a day when you see the very same things that you see every day… but you see them with “occhi nuovi” – with new eyes– with that particular emotional response that you usually experience only when you see things for the very first time. Umbria has had a rather wild season: a cruelly cold February, an unseasonably warm March, a chilly and wet April, and so far, a pleasant May. Saturday was glorious: the afternoon breeze was summer-like and the landscape, renewed from the April rains, smiled, laughed and danced in the warm and fun-loving breeze.
Was it that my heart was aglow for some special reasons, was it my pervading sense of well-being after a row of hectic days, the satisfaction of pleased guests and their exuding enthusiasm and appreciation, or simply the glorious weather? Or was it that as I moved about the Inn, gazing at the breathtaking views outside every window it was as 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… the valley far more lush.
I felt a strong emotion as if I were seeing it all anew, through a filter of unique and rarefied beauty. The views and beauty were the same as they are every day. But my particular state of mind let me see the usual, the normal with “occhi nuovi”.- with new eyes. This ability is one of the greatest gifts, a gift I deeply treasure!
