là vità è fattà così

Simplicity ... In the event called Life. A loose translation. One thing about my mother tongue is that it really doesn't translate. In italian the usage of language is intertwined with story telling and proverbs. A language that was solidified after the publication of Dantè's great literary works in and around the 1400's. My Italian was perfected through schooling but at home, it's a different story.

My maternal grandmother, the woman who raised me speaks a Spanish dialect. Some of the words we use would not be recognizable to a northerner or southerner. She speaks the italian she learned growing up in the era of the Second World War. Her education was disrupted, by Hitler and Mussolini. She barely finished grade three, when the troops started their raids on the households in Terracina.

She went into the mountains with her mother and young sister. Her father was a prisoner of war in East Africa. My great grandmother, not knowing if her husband the true love of her life was alive or dead, bought half the town. People were evacuating and she saw the opportunity to purchase beach and farm land. She knew that the war would end . She knew that they would rebuild . And it did end, it left permanent scars, destroyed so much beauty and caused propaganda galore. 

  

I leaned from the experience of my great grandmom,  the power to rebuild is greater than the power to destroy. That sometimes death and despair is the closest we get to inspiration. Sometimes the ugly and dark side can cause the  light  of beauty. Not manufactured and not the kind that is material. The kind of beauty that we pass on to our children . The hope of a blessing and the confidence to walk in that light. 

If the absence of light has seeped into your existence... Remember that it is only in the dark that a bright light can shine. 

Can't wait for the sun to shine more closely again!! The world keeps spinning. 

And in winter, the stillness captivates me. 

I used to look for blessings outside of myself . #snowhitefromrexdale