A few years ago, I lived in Gaeta, Italy. It is halfway between Rome and Naples and right on the ocean. I lived up on top of a small mountain without a car. There were only 3 or 4 houses on the mountain. To get to work, I'd have to walk down to the bottom where I could catch a city bus that would take me pretty close to my job. The city bus only departed from this area once every 30 minutes. As a result, I left really early to make sure that I was there waiting on the bus. After I walked to the bus stop... it was another 2 1/2 miles to the school. At a certain point, if the bus was running late... I had to just start walking the entire way to the school to make sure that I'd get to work on time. Sometimes I had to do that. Which is why I left as early as I did to allow myself enough time to walk over 3 miles- if I needed to do so.
At this time of the morning it was always dark; so, as I started walking down the hillside on the simple narrow paved one lane road without any street lights... for my 30 minute commute down the hill....
I left my house walking in the darkness, making sure that I kept my flashlight down towards the narrow road so that I could just barely see the paved road under my feet, feeling for the hardness of the road under my shoes, making sure I didn't hear the crunch of the gravel indicating that I was about to walk off of the road into the brambles, trees, and into the forested area. I continued walking down the narrow road in the darkness...listening to the birds slowly awakening, and within minutes the sun slowly crept over the mountain's edge. I knew it was time to turn off the flashlight. I didn't want to miss a moment ... because... I got to see this amazing view every morning. Sunrise over the ocean. It was breathtaking, different each day, calming, serene, and it never failed that I didn't just stop and look for a few moments ... trying to absorb and remember how each day's opening gift was so different and beautiful.
Simply; the beauty made the long trek to work much more bearable.
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| This was the view that I had when I got to the bus stop: A close up harbor view... |
| It was the most beautiful place that I have ever lived, visited, and experienced. |
1 comment:
How gorgeous!
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