I took a risk and now I'm writing this blog post from a villa in Tuscany
Maraviglia, a conscious living center and my home for the next week, in Monte San Savino in Tuscany.
Here I am, bloated on breakfast pecorino cheese wedges as I reflect on my first few days spent diving in to a simpler state of elevated existence in the Tuscan countryside. How I got here, though, is a story unto itself.
Just a few weeks ago I was in Portland with my husband and some friends, exploring the incandescent beauty of the Pacific Northwest while reveling in the space held for me by my soul sisters – my friends from college.
Professionally and personally, things had been looking up. I landed a few private clients I had been anticipating working with, my husband and I were enjoying life and celebrating each other, I was sleeping 8 hours a night and taking it easy on the wine; all-in-all, things were simple and good.
A few days into the trip, something I never really thought of or planned for myself happened and things got a lot more interesting: I was officially going on my first international job with my writing. Rarely does an opportunity that seems so straightforward and obvious pop up, but when I received the signal to cover Get Grounded, a wellness retreat hosted by Brooklyn-based experiential marketing group To Be Content, I had never felt more clarity about anything.
What ensued in the following days was a whirlwind of gut-wrenching anxiety, ecstatic disbelief and whole lot of last-minute preparation (did you know that you can have your passport renewed in as little as 24 hours?). I’ve travelled solo before, but never to a foreign land where I was to meet with a group of perfect strangers in the middle of the countryside. Two flights, a bus, and two trains later, I had made it to my destination: the village of Monte San Savino.
The past three days have contained activities I never would have dreamed of participating in before: from home-cooked Italian pastas made by our host, to Kundalini yoga sessions hosted in an open-air shalla on the side of a hill, to “town hall” style discussions where we’ve been airing our dirty laundry in an environment specifically tailored to let us simply speak our truths. I’ve eaten salami and more pecorino cheese than I have in my entire lifetime up to this point, and I’ve drank two aperol spritzes at the top of a natural hot spring. Yesterday we indulged in a 16 course home-cooked meal. I’m learning about Human Design, which might just take things to the unthinkable next level from me.
Things are good, and I can’t complain.
I think I’ll take risks more often.