HAPPINESS

If there is a word fit to define the party at Lorneza’s it is: happiness. It seems incredible but now happiness has become an integral part of Desert Therapy everywhere and all the time, whether in the desert, city, sea or home. It only takes an occasion to get together and instantly the atmosphere transforms, like magic. Bad moods, worries, sadness pass and we find ourselves laughing, reaching out to one another, because no one is afraid of showing who they really are without reserve, as they lived in the desert. There are no conditions, age differences don’t matter: and the young ones even joke with those who could be their grandparents with spontaneity and joy, and together they plan new travels and get togethers. Topics of conversation never lack that is for sure and everyone is welcome. It is wonderful to know that an idea born in the desert to have people walk with me, has also turned into this. I see the happiness in their eyes, they are well, living a peaceful moment together, and this is not a small thing. It really gives me a lot.

DESERT THERAPY PARTY

Big preparations for the party tomorrow evening in the workshop of Lorenza, one of our travel friends who is allowing us to use her creative space to get together with most of the participants of the diverse editions of Desert Therapy. It will be a splendid occasion to meet new friends and to exchange holiday wishes in happiness and peace, with the desire to see each other again and to reconnect, as happens every time we get together. Therefore tomorrow I will return from my white refuge, where I have been isolated in order to write of my adventure with Fabio, and return to reality. It was a week of full emersion in the desert, with a strong emotional impact that brought my thoughts back to walking with my blind friend and relive the excitement of our unforgettable journey. And the party tomorrow will be the perfect epilogue to a special week.

Virtual Journey

The moment has arrived which I have been putting off, waiting for and at the same time dreading: I am working full time on the new book which tells of my adventure with Fabio. The long pause on the blog was not due to laziness, but the demands of writing again. I don’t suffer from writer’s block, actually it is the contrary, I have so much to tell that I fear I wont have enough space. I am completely immersed in it: with my mind there, in the middle of the desert and I am retracing step by step the journey, to relive every moment as if it were the present, feeling the fatigue even physically. To do this I have to isolate myself, stay alone and be with my thoughts, reconstructing every moment of the challenge. For a few days I decided to leave everyone and hide myself in my little retreat in the snow, to remember the special moments. Also Fabio is working and his writing, very different than mine, is from the point of view of a blind person living a life changing experience. The alternating of our testimonies is fusing together so well and the result is better than my most optimistic hopes. And thus….we go forward!

Always moving forward

Every day is filled with new surprises: this is the great magic of life, that it never stops surprising us. It seems incredible but every time I think I have hit rock bottom, and can’t recover from difficult situations, then, around the corner there is a new surprise that gives me the energy to go forward, the desire to continue on a path that seemed too difficult, the desire to start fighting again, to get involved, in one word: return living. The signs are often different, but they are unambiguous and always come when we least expect it. It could be an unexpected friendship, an unforeseen opportunity, a new love, all situations that change our lives, and the trivial suddenly become special, unique, living for the moment. We should never deny the gifts destiny offers us: they are the unrepeatable moments that will never happen again. We should learn to accept them fully, with gratitude and joy. These are the gifts life offers us, which will remain forever enshrined in our story and which will accompany us on the journey that still lies ahead.

So much news!

It has been a very busy and important period that just ended for me, and often there was not enough time to follow everything…
In addition to the evening in Casale, there were two TV appearances on Telenova with Cesare Cadeo on the program “Passo in TV” and participation yesterday on the program of Licia Colo "Alle falde del Kilimangiaro." They were important and demanding, but also gave me a lot of satisfaction. Hundreds of emails, many to ask information about our trips and naturally I needed to respond to them and all in a short period of time. But not only: yesterday, on the program, I announced that next fall the book I am writing with Fabio will be released, thus I have a few intense months of work ahead in order to meet the deadlines decided on with my editor. I have already started escaping from the city and take refuge in the mountains or other places close to nature by myself, so that I can return in my mind to those days of walking and fatigue in the desert, to relive moment after moment, every instant of our challenge, so that I can transmit in writing the intense emotions that we experienced and the difficulties that we overcame in the 15 days we spent together. Day after day I will walk mentally in the sand, in the footprints of our path together, guided by memories that hand in hand came about spontaneously. It will be a journey inside the journey, intense, tiring but strong: a new challenge to overcome.

Evening of...travel

It was an interesting evening last Thursday at Casale Monferrato where art, travel and good taste fused together with great balance and charm. Caterina, a skilled creator of jewellery and the organizer of the event, chose the charming Hotel Candiani as the place for the meeting with the public, hosting not only me but also Lorenza, one of the women of the last Desert Therapy. An artist of great depth, while travelling in Egypt gave the desert a few of her “souls”, wonderful works of art that she brought with her, and she told us about her travel experience with great enthusiasm. A great crowd filled the room, which was lit by dozens of candles, jewellery and works of art, and a sweet soundtrack completed the mood: the perfect setting for Desert Therapy.

Gift to the Desert

During the last Desert Therapy in Egypt, I brought with me an object that for a long time was part of my life and which I was particularly attached to.
From when I became in possession of it, it was always close to me, but I knew that its destiny was to remain in the Desert. And this is how if was.
At camp three, my favourite camp and the most loved by those who experience Desert Therapy, under one of the numerous pinnacles that surrounds our tents, I left my gift to the Desert. I wont deny that I had an emotional moment when separating from something that has accompanied me for a period of time, but knowing that I was performing a gesture already written in my destiny, gave me great serenity. The sand accepted it and now will hold it, forever. The roots that connect me with the desert that I love so dearly, with this gesture are even stronger: we have a little secret that only we share. It is my gift, to thank it for the special and unforgettable moments that it has given to me until today….