Day 12 - Rome - Finding Everyday Joy

Back in Rome and successfully seeing EVERYTHING listed in all three of my guidebooks (ok so not everything, but everything that I could handle), I wondered what I would do today. I went about my morning (ok more like early afternoon after I woke up), did my normal routine (blog, upload pictures, answer emails, shower) and headed out the door figuring inspiration would strike me.

Inspiration struck in a form that can best be summed up by a parable I was recently sent by a friend - A zen master was approached by a student and asked how he could find joy in a world wrought with such turmoil, and sadness and hatred. The zen master looked at the student and raised his glass. A friend gave me this glass, he said. I really like this glass, it holds my water well, is a fine work of craftsmanship and ingenuity. I also know that this glass is fragile. It will be knocked around and become chipped and get lost. So I take joy in this having this glass today, for I know it is already broken.

Finding joy in the everyday. So that's what I did and I will share it with you, in hopes you can find your everyday joys too:

• Sleeping in, even when housekeeping is circling around my door hoping to change my sheets and towels
• Fresh, crispy cotton sheets and towels when I return from a long humid afternoon
• Blogging to bring a little smile to those I am not with, and for myself
• Shopping on cobblestoned back streets, in tiny little stores, for loved ones back home.
  
• Listening to a book on spiritual awakening on my iPod, while appreciating the moment I am in, in Italy - a trip I paid for and planned on my own.
  
• Taking photographs of young children playing in a fountain to beat the heat - until they and their parents are reprimanded by "someone on the street". Only to return to the water once he was safely out of sight line.
• Watching a grandfather care for his baby granddaughter in a stroller in the shade next to the fountains and the love that emanated off of them.
• A quiet street cafe, a good glass of wine, a sandwich and a good book.
• An old dusty wine shop with shelves of Italian greats stacked floor to ceiling.
• Actually being able to sort of find my way around this city, only 2 days before I leave it.
  
• The ease and timeliness of public transportation which can get you almost anywhere you need to go - thanks to, of all people, Mussolini.
  
• A much needed call from home to remind me that I am loved and missed.
  
• Handsome Italian men, in $5,000 silk suits, riding mopeds across this dirty, bustling city.
• A French inspired baroque church sitting regally among Renaissance buildings along the Tiber.
• A plate of cookies, an extra glass of champagne and a smile, compliments of the wait staff as you sat at a table alone amount groups and couples - reminding you that there are perks in being alone.
• Appreciating the blessings of being able to travel, but discovering there is no place like home.