January 30, 2023

You are my fairytale, I love you”

Rome calms my nervous system.

It always has, even before I had the awareness to know it. That’s the magic of somatics.

I feel Rome in my body when I walk around. A fluttery heart like when you see a crush in public. Gentle shivers across your neck and back when I see a certain sliver of light or an older couple walking hand in hand, enjoying the scenery of their very own fairytale.

Being in the city on a sunny day with that blue sky that makes you question if the sky is actually brighter here, or it just contrasts particularly well with the architecture. Or both. It makes me feel things.

I just felt fully settled in the city yesterday.

Today I leave for Namibia for two weeks. I’m going on an adventure with a best friend who in many ways is responsible for the wild way my life veered from everything I assumed it would be when I was growing up.

Life has a funny way of surprising you and showing up with exactly what you need even if you didn’t know you needed it.

This is an understatement.

I’ve been on the move since October. It’s been gorgeous and it’s been a little exhausting. It was for work reasons and play reasons. Tomorrow is my fourth continent in these past four months.

I’ve questioned a lot recently, as I often do. How’d I end up in Rome? Is it forever?

Last week I felt at home in my home, yesterday I felt at home in my city. Tomorrow I wake up in Africa.

And honestly? As tempting as it is to really dive into how our bodies are our homes (they are) I’m going to leave it here and say:

I don’t believe in fairytales. But if I did, I’d say each and every one of us has the possibility to live in one of our own creation and I think that concept is pretty fun, to say the least.

In my retreats, one of my favorite exercises involves dreaming and embodying your future self— which is basically a somatic fairytale.

So maybe spend some time with this thought today: Cosa è la tua favola? What’s your fairytale?