Direct Experience

Trusting your intuition, bumping into people and striking up conversations with strangers. Life in Liguria!

Today I was struck by the thought that what I was hearing did not match up to my lived and felt experience.

The place is Italy, specifically Ormea in Liguria, where we had driven to for a little Saturday dog walk and to generally recce the place for a multi day hike that is seeding itself for later in the year. After we’d parked and found a lovely dog friendly bar for a cappucino, a lady came over with her large dog and our dogs all started sniffing each other’s bits, as they do.

“Is yours on heat?” the owner asked me.

“No” I replied and looked properly at the lady. She smiled.

“We know each other.'“ she said “from the singing group.”

“ Oh, of course.” I smiled back, and we exchanged a few pleasantries. Lovely to bump into someone I know. She sat at the bar to have her coffee and then as she was paying, the bar tender shouted something to Marty. I was oblivious, tending to the dogs, but said goodbye as she passed. “Walk on this side of the mountain, it’s warmer.” She was right, the sun hadn’t hit the other side across the river where we’d planned to go, and where Marty had planned to run (scuppered by the custard stuffed gigantic croissant he’d had with his coffee.)

Next, because this was turning into quite a social morning, a couple approached, with their little terrier called Neve: Snow. They were from Turin and were fed up with Italy, the politics, the bureaucracy, the administration, the people. It was a difficult conversation to have, especially since we are committed to staying her for life. What I was hearing did not match up to my lived and felt experience of Italy. They said they were moving to Alicante, Spain where everything is better. Like the 1980s they said, before mobile phones and technology started to take over. Well, I concluded, there’s good and bad everywhere.

I’m masterful at generalisations.

We rose to leave and Marty asked the barista what he’d called out to him earlier. He said my friend with the dog had paid our breakfasts. A lived experience of kindness. I can’t wait to see her at singing group on Wednesday to say thankyou.

Italy has been mainly like this: people being friendly and kind. Inclusive.

People tell me that Italy is not a great place to live. I argue that neither is the UK anymore.

Everyone wants to be someplace else. Even my mum has sold the house she swore she would never leave until she was carried out in a box, the house I was born in, even mum is upping and moving elsewhere.

Inherently we just need to make changes occasionally to keep things fresh.

My soul was pining for mountains and sea and blue skies, so we came to Italy. The Italian couple are looking for a throwback to the 80’s and my mum is looking for new community and a fresh start in her 80s.

We ended up taking the walk up to the castle. It was a beautiful day for it. Our dogs ate the snow adn stood perilously near to the edge of steep drops and chased a cat. The church bells rang and the snowy peaks shone brilliantly against the blue, blue sky.

I love it here.

I feel at home. I feel at peace even though there’s dramas going on in my life (like most people with families and circles of friends, there’s never really a time when everything is perfect!)

My experience is what I trust. Walking around Ormea today and biking to Pantasina yesterday, I know I’m lucky. I don’t want to ever stop appreciating being here.

So once again I say thank you to the universe, to whatever is out there taking care of me, of us.

I trust it all.