I wake early in Rome, consider the news from back home, the economic news from around the world. Perhaps it is having spent time in land that is so orchestrated to the Etruscans, Romans, invasion, absorption, and recovery, that is giving me some distance from it right now, or perhaps it is spending so much time in Assisi, which is the City of Peace, and dedicated to St. Francis who spoke so eloquently of communion and spirituality, and who lived so diligently his words.
I thought I would go through my journal to share my trip and bring you to where I am now.
If I were to say what I have most gained it is perspective and a further realization that "wherever I go, there I am," and increasing awareness of how I influence what I see and touch and how I am influenced.
There are people who stay with me, people I carry, those who are closed and those who are open. Steve and I are most touched by the woman who did our laundry one day. We dropped off a dirty pile at 10 in the morning, and at 6 we picked it up. She was so proud of the work she had done and beamed as she handed it over. Though we had said no ironing, she ironed and returned our clothes blessed with her touch. This is a woman who lives a life of Christ, a life as brought forward by St. Francis. She is from Pisa. The man who drove the taxi who brought us here is another. The one who helped us find a place to eat last night. There are those who live and breathe an air that is carried round the world. It is lovely to see and experience.
I was reading about Assisi and how one cannot help but be influenced by the stones there, the pink marble, the soft, yet swift air and energy. I see it as true. It is a town of peace and every place on earth can be brought to the same generosity and sensitivity. May it be so, each moment, breath, and life of animal, plant, and stone.