Those who have gone there agree that it is exceptional! And that it reaches far above and beyond the more general feeling of well-being or cozy comfort that you might experience while sitting by the fire with a glass of wine and a good book or snuggled between freshly laundered sheets.
Even its source both mystifies and awes in its inexplicability.
Case in point, the last time I experienced it, I was flipping a frittata. Perplexing to think that this banal act could be the trigger. And it should also be noted that no mindfulness or meditation was practiced, no drugs or alcohol consumed at the time.
Many years ago, on a day in late spring, I was working on (struggling with) a translation, sitting at my desk in Sacile, where I was employed at the time.
The day was glorious, sunshine and the sound of people and traffic pouring in from the open window. Midway through the text I was working on, I became very aware of the texture of the paper, the indentations produced by the pen and the weight of the pen and its form in my hand. Word choice became more precise and elevated, fluidity and clarity ensued, thought patterns acquired sophistication.
A multilayered awareness of and connectedness to one’s surroundings and a quasi visual cognizance of body temperature, bodily functions and position within the encompassing space permeates.
You are simultaneously distinct from and still part of it all. There is an overall shift in position of space and thought perception; like entering a closet in a room and thus still being in the room yet acquiring a completely new perspective/perception (only this time without physically moving to a new location).
It can be summed up as a rush of energy, openness, consciousness which allows for gleaning from the infinitesimal and the everyday (the common/the accustomed to) which we normally disregard, by crystallizing and putting in focus via heightened sensory perception the world around us and in us.
Title photo by Ennie Horvath
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