Episode 89: On Italy, and Following the Charm…..

“Italy was a goal and a magnet precisely because it was so much the other” - Helen Barolini - Their Other Side

“Can a place be an archetype?  Or pertain mythical qualities?  Emily Dickinson never left her home in New England to travel, the Italy she wrote and dreamed of symbolised something else, joy, hope, freedom…. And ultimately, the most powerful of qualities, transformation.  Italy was more than a subject, it was a tool for resurrection and empowerment.  Hmmm, I recognise this…”

Today I go deep into the many layers of my own life and the inspiration that has led to this point on the journey, and share what it is to “follow the charm” in life and in the quiet and beautiful epiphanies that happen along the way.

Shownotes:

Their Other Side: Six American Women and the Lure of Italy by Helen Barolini

Reveal: A Sacred Manuel for Getting Spiritually Naked by Meggan Watterson

Longing for Darkness: Tara and the Black Madonna by China Galland

A Place in the World & Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

Tara Brach quote from her conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow on the Goop Podcast 14/11/2023

How to be an Artist by Jerry Saltz

Sue Monk Kidd quote - In conversation with Oprah Winfrey - The Life of the Soul Podcast - Oprah’s Super Soul 28/11/18

One of my favourite books that have led me along a certain path that has deepened and enlivened me while figuring out what direction I wanted to go in....

The simple beauty of place and sitting in a Cafe to watch the world go by - a delicious travel moment too