Oh, I see! moments
Travel Cultures Language

World Views:

Topics

21

Jan

Everyday Aha Moments in Italy

by Joyce McGreevy on January 21, 2019

Santa Croce and passing trucks in Florence inspire an aha moment about everyday Italian rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Santa Croce inspires. So do the delivery-truck drivers on their daily predawn rounds.
© Joyce McGreevy

Discovering Beauty in Life’s Little Rituals

It’s no revelation to say that icons of awe-inspiring beauty are everywhere in Florence. For some visitors,  the rarified aha moments induced by a surfeit of grandeur can even become physically overwhelming.

But as Italian psychologist Piero Ferrucci writes, we can also “discover [beauty] in everyday life: a song heard on the street, a crumbling old wall, the reflections in a puddle.”

The Arno at sunset in Florence Italy inspires an aha moment about life’s little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A walk along the Arno at sunset is glorious, but . . .
© Joyce McGreevy  Read more...

 

Crossing Cultures/Discoveries/Italy/Life Lessons

07

Jan

In Florence, a Feast of Festivals

by Joyce McGreevy on January 7, 2019

A view of Firenze from across the Arno inspires a writer to reflect on the cultural traditions of New Year in Italy. (Image © Victoria Lyons)

Winter in the city of Dante: Florence invites reflection and revelry in equal measure.
© Victoria Lyons

Savoring the First Week of the Year
Is an Italian Cultural Tradition

Are “the holidays” a faint memory? In some countries, all trace of yuletide is tidied away with alarming efficiency. Trees that inspire ho-ho-ho’s one day, get the heave-ho the next.

Here in Florence, Italy, January’s air is still redolent with balsam. Fairy lights arch over streets, and by Italian cultural tradition, a feast of festivals continues. Long past December, much remains to be savored, so my friend Victoria and I go with the Florentine flow.  Read more...

 

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Italy/On Foot

02

Jan

What’s in the Art of New Year’s Resolutions?

by Meredith Mullins on January 2, 2019

Happy new year hat on weathered boards, showing the cultural traditions of Japanese wabi sabi and lending a theme for New Year's resolutions. (Image © Kameleon007/iStock.)

Here’s to a year of glitter and the worn beauty of wabi sabi.
© Kameleon007/iStock

Cultural Tradition with a Dash of Wabi Sabi

  • Eat healthier.
  • Get more exercise.
  • Lose weight.
  • Learn a language.
  • Save more money.
  • (Make more money!)
  • Master a new skill.
  • Read more.
  • Spend quality time with friends and family.

Sound familiar?

Yes, it’s that time of year again. A transition to a new annual chapter. A time to turn the page. Start fresh. And make a New Year’s resolution or two . . . or three—rising to the challenge of self-improvement and accomplishing new goals.

These days, the percentage of people making New Year’s resolutions seems to be steadily declining. And the percentage of those keeping their resolutions dives even lower.

I admit to being in this latter category. Resolutions made. Resolutions broken (usually by sometime in January).

So why not take a different tack? Why not embrace wabi sabi?  Read more...

 

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Japan

Copyright © 2011-2025 OIC Books   |   All Rights Reserved   |   Privacy Policy