Notebook thoughts
“I am so lucky. I had hot coffee this morning. I felt the sun on my face. I talked with a few friends. I ran and broke a sweat. Tonight I will sleep in a warm bed.”
Getting Better / Lago di Tenno - July 2025
Put this little graphic together over the summer when I was feeling down and was grasping for a framework to motivate myself
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Sometimes life is sitting on sharp rocks in a beautiful place. It hurts but is also beautiful. Just depends on how you focus your attention
Feeling like I’ve needed to move my body lately, get better sleep, eat less, and manage my stress. At the same time I’ve been thoroughly enjoying living in the moment and maximizing experiences and time with friends. Life is a challenge of balance
We’ve swam every day here. I wanted to feel the same way that I did just last year while floating in the Mediterranean, a peak moment I’ve been chasing, but I haven’t caught it. Maybe it was romanticized
I’m back here with both more and less direction. Wiser mayhaps. And just the feeling of time passed and accumulated memories separate last year me versus the one sitting on this rocky beach today
Buongiorno - August 2025
My tired legs carry me up the winding stairs towards Bar Centrale
I leave my phone at home in the closet so as to practice a sabbath for myself
I dressed to be proud of how I looked that morning. A sign of respect towards oneself and a matter of blending in with the society around
Walking out the door felt crisp and refreshing compared to the mugginess of inside, however, as I sat to write the ink dried quickly in the suns blaze
Un cappuccino and un apple cake. It is just passed eleven in the morning
Old folk with mismatched shoes walking with canes, a bar attendant smoking her 2nd cigarette of the morning, a young mother walking with her baby strapped to her chest… all in the foreground, while the rush of a cool waterfall is continuous behind their moments
Crumbs of the apple cake fall onto the handmade plate, revealing its uncovered glory. On it, painted in blue, a road leads to a Swiss farmhouse, a man and a woman stand in the street
The man, a vagabond by foot, looks to be courting the woman for a glass of water or meal
The woman, seemingly the proud oldest daughter of the farm, completes her chores for the day
A large tree juts out the fauna between the two. Having borne witness to the familiar courting of the woman’s mother by her father on this very sleepy street, branches continue to grow
Before the sleepy Swiss landscape, the apple cake, roaring waterfall, the baby, 2nd cigarette, and mismatched shoes, there was a round older man who called out “Buongiorno!” to me from his neigboring balcony as I left my home for the café. A good day, indeed.
And he will be there tomorrow, or if not, then his kin… however, it is curious, where will I be?
~ a vagabond by foot
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peace and love everyone, always,
robert