Laura Lavigne
  • Home
  • Blog
  • The School
  • Happiness Retreats
  • MORE
    • HAPPINESS COACHING
    • HAPPYU FREE COMMuNITY
    • HAPPINESS SPRINKLING CARDS
    • Books Special 2020
    • Laura's YouTube Channel
    • Essence Facilitators
    • THE CENTER FOR HAPPINESS >
      • THE HAPPINESS SPRINKLING PROJECT
I write because that's how
I get to taste life all the way.

GET my blog

Three Lessons in 15 Italian Minutes

4/26/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture

It was already dark when we arrived into Florence. We had been driving around all day, and I was ready to step away from behind the wheel and be home - wherever our-home-for-the-night was going to be.

We had the address of our Airbnb, but my phone was unable to get an internet signal to guide us there. Without it, I had no clue how we would find 65 via Marconi.

I was tired. I just wanted to stop and take a break from the fast roundabouts, from the zip zip motorcycles and Vespas that appeared out of nowhere.

My heavy mind was feeling uncharacteristically helpless and out of resources, and for a long second I thought that maybe we should spend the night into the nice gas station we had just pulled into. I turned off the engine. I leaned into the headrest and closed my eyes. The idea of somehow landing in front of our apartment felt naive and silly. I told my son that we were never going to find it.

He was calm and he was kind. And he had zero intention of not finding the place. So he said to me: “let’s just take action.”

I opened my eyes and looked at him. What the heck did that mean “just take action?”

He repeated: “Let’s just take some action, and we’ll get unstuck.”

Ooooookay. Take action. Turn on the car. Then ... what? Go right, he said. We went right. And then drove a little bit. And then, all of a sudden, I remembered our host having said something about being near a busy stadium. And then, we saw a sign for “stadio,” so we went that way, and a bit further.

I felt a little better.

Meanwhile, my son was playing with the screen display on the dashboard.

When I had picked up our car at the airport, a few days before, the rental agent has asked me if I wanted to pay extra for the GPS, and I had said no thank you (ha!). For this reason, I had told Costa that we did not have GPS service. Which was incorrect. Within minutes of pressing buttons, there “She” was, ready to guide us to wherever we wanted, with a beautiful sultry French voice. Apparently, just because I did not want to pay extra, did not mean I did not get one. Great lesson in assumption.

Pretty soon, lead by our new French voice friend, we arrived in front of Massimo’s beautiful home. Just like that. SO much better than the gas station, and all this because we had taken action.  We had gotten back on the road, which somehow triggered the memory of the stadium, which allowed us to see the signs for the stadium. Then, Costa had decided to question my statement about no having a GPS. And there we were.

Three lessons in 15 Italian minutes. Quite the deal.

Lesson #1
Let’s get back on the road, even if we not sure where you are going, nor how.  Let’s trust life to jog our memory, provide us with clues, and partner with us.

Lesson #2
Let’s not translate people’s words into our own meaning. No, we don’t want to pay extra for the GPS. Fine. No one has said that this meant we don’t get a GPS. It just means we don’t have to pay extra for it. So simple.

Lesson #3
Let’s be sure to travel through life l with a great co-pilot. One who is calm, believes in a friendly universe, and  is big time possibility-minded. Totally worth its weight in gelato.

We had several wonderful days in Alessio’s apartment and many more adventures!

Wishing you a super sweet day...


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    My new book
    is out!

    Picture
    Receive my blog by email
    Picture

    Want my FREE Happiness Crash Course eBook?

    Picture


    My Elephant Journal Articles:

    What Happens When We Half A** Our Apologies

    I wasn't Expecting to Lose my Emotional Virginity on Lesvos

    Becoming One With My Backpack, at 53

    Some Days We Have to Mow the Lawn Twice


    The Lesson I Learned from a Moroccan Street Market

    Dear Man Who Says He Wants Intimacy

    How to Not Abandon Ourselves When the Going Gets Rough

    Just Sitting There Doing Nothing: What I Learned From an Italian Balcony
    Picture
    "Every time I read your blog I am so profoundly happy I did.  The truth you speak is just mindboggling.  The real, real voice you have.  It makes me almost crazy how much I love your words and your way of telling stories that cut to the quick- and I never have the words to really say how much this all means to me. 

    You put out so many heartfelt blog pieces that touch my heart and move me down the right path at the right time.  Pure beautiful magic girlie. I love you for this.

    Thank you for digging in there and finding the gems of wisdom and then just sharing them out as if there's an endless supply ... which with you, there is."


    "Thank you for sharing your wonderful, heartbreaking, exhilarating experience with the world."

    "Thank You Laura for sharing, for teaching and spreading loving kindness. "

    "I think I love you. You bring good things into my life, or remind me of things I love and know, but have let go of."

    "Laura, you are so good for me. I laugh and sniffle and get the shivers when I read your essays. Thanks so much for letting all your wonderfulness run around loose."

    "Heart-achingly beautiful, your words and how you reveal your truth."

    "Thank you so much for who you are and what you share with the world. Your mere being transforms lives as it has transformed mine. This particular post did to my heart what water does to parched soil."

    "Thank you for your gentle words that are packed full of wisdom. I have been struggling with the concept of what words can do to another person when they are negative words. Your words are the flip side of our word power, and shows how delightfully powerful kind words can be. Thank you."

    "Once again Laura Lavigne takes you on an adventure of the heart. She has a way of pulling you right in the car with her. Asking you to consider changing a fear to taking thoughtful action. Whether she's teaching a class, leading a retreat or heading for a happiness sprinkling, Laura will invite you to shed old ways of thinking and be completely authentic. Join in!"

    "Essentially pure love.
    I enjoy how Laura is kind to herself and to us other humans who dance in and out of each other's lives. "


    "Don't miss a post!
    You can count on Laura for warmth, humor, charm, and a lift to your day and your heart. She inspires me to be braver than I am, and to love the world out loud. She's a gem, and a generous one at that!"

    Me

    I write because this is the way I am able to  taste life more deeply.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
  • Home
  • Blog
  • The School
  • Happiness Retreats
  • MORE
    • HAPPINESS COACHING
    • HAPPYU FREE COMMuNITY
    • HAPPINESS SPRINKLING CARDS
    • Books Special 2020
    • Laura's YouTube Channel
    • Essence Facilitators
    • THE CENTER FOR HAPPINESS >
      • THE HAPPINESS SPRINKLING PROJECT