Vedo l'ora

It is very rare that I know what the title of a blog post is going to be before I start writing.  However, I have been thinking about this idea for a long time and I just can't wait to name it.  Non vedo l'ora.

A couple months ago when I first moved to Italy, I was watching TV when I heard the Italian phrase, "non vedo l'ora".  I was intrigued by this phrase, which is literally translated as "I don't see the hour/the time".  It is an Italian expression that translates into the English idiom, "I cannot wait"---in the sense that you are so excited that you "can't wait".   I can't wait to get married.  I can't wait to be rich.  I can't wait to move.  I can't wait to quit my job.

How interesting, I thought.... that this phrase translates into Italian as "non vedo l'ora", "I don't see the hour".  What this translation implies is that you are so excited about the future that you are focused on the fantasy of what will happen rather than what is happening in the reality of the present. 

Considering the title of my blog is ,"ora e il momento", now is the moment, I found this to be a particularly intriguing dilemma.  If "now" is the moment....but you don't see "now"...then there is a problem.  The problem is that when you live in anticipation of the future---constantly saying, "I can't wait"---you are not seeing the MOMENT of now.  You are missing out on the gift of the present...you are missing out on the present AND the gift.

So what does this mean for my life now? I have been in Italy for almost 3 months. I picked up my life and moved to a totally new place---with a different language, time zone, culture, job, etc.  This was not an easy adjustment.  The first month was a honeymoon...the second month was tough...the third month has been the most "normal" for me so far.  The initial shock of being exposed to new neighborhood streets, new people, a new curriculum and school, and a new way of life has more or less mellowed out into a feeling of comfort.  Similar to the feeling of when you enter into a cold pool---I felt like the "cold water" of Italy was quite uncomfortable and abrasive to be in for a while.  My body temperature needed to acclimate to the temperature around me---- I needed to adapt to the people and way of life here.   I now am feeling settled, and very self-aware of the change my body has been through.  Although I still have much more to adjust to, the old "temperatures" of the Atlantic Ocean are in the past now and I am feeling rather comfortable in the Mediterranean sea of Italy. One swim at a time. Piano Piano.

As our extrinsic surroundings change, it is important we allow our inner beings to adjust as well. This is inclusive of our personal relationships, physical surroundings, and way of life.  We have to adapt.  After a break up we need to adapt. After moving to a new place we need to adapt.  After a new job we need to adapt.

I have a very strong faith and I believe that God created all living things on Earth.  I believe all things living on Earth are very strongly interconnected, particularly humans and animals.  I believe we can learn very much from observing and learning about animals.  In this argument of living in the moment, animals can offer us much wisdom about adaptation and living in the moment.  Animals adapt as a means of survival.  They are not worried about what will happen in the future when they use camouflage- they are very much so living in the moment because they have to in order to live. 

I have been recently fascinated by the life of a snake. Bare with me.
The continual process of shedding old skin. 
I feel connected to this process, as I have shed many old ways of my life in order to create a new and thicker skin beneath--a new life.

The most interesting thing about the life of a snake is the process of the new skin/scales growing simultaneously as the old skin dies. Now, of course, humans shed skin as well but it is not as visually obvious.  When you see a snake's old dry thin casing, it can create a shiver knowing that a snake could be potentially nearby.  However, I recently have perceived this process of shedding as beautiful.  Although, I will confess,  if I saw one near my foot I would probably scream bloody murder and run away.  But in the hypothetical and metaphorical sense- the process if quite beautiful. n I did some research. A snake grows new skin underneath the old--and when the new skin is ready to be exposed to air---the old skin sheds off in order that the skin underneath can grow to its potential.  The process is a duality---the new skin cannot thrive without the old skin growing and the old skin cannot become withered and fall off unless the new skin is nurtured. 

I may have lost you. 

We often are scared to let go of our past.  We are scared to say goodbye to past lovers, friendships, places, ways of thinking, objects of particular affinity. Let's face it, it is easier to hold on to the comfort of the past than adjust and acclimate to a new life.  

But it is so much more beautiful if you just allow yourself to grow, to change, and to experience life in the MOMENT.  If you are living your life in a way that you "can't wait" for the future, than you do not SEE the present. 

If you are brave enough to accept the reality of what is around you in the present, I believe you will find that this way of life is a much more beautiful way of living.  Just like I have realized, slowly but surely.

You CAN wait for the future. 

See the present moment.

Vedi l'ora.