Author: jjillgallery

Ferrovia: The “Great Iron Way” – carrying “merchandise” of all sorts to destinations for a variety of purposes. As we begin 2023, many of us, with boundaries beyond the immediate that surround us now, reflect on loved ones, from other places, other times. We belong to them, as they to us – regardless of whatever becomes the current trend in education, books, theory, politics or practice. We have been gifted with a sense to discern, to seek understanding through wisdom. And this gift arrives only through silence, observation, reflection…much that is voided or dismissed today.
What makes someone concretely refuse, resist, stand for an abstract concept – singularly and collectively? My daily four-hour travels to Manhattan from Upstate NY in the late 90s promised a daily departure and return, even through feelings of abandonment. This, in contrast to 600,000+ troops whose abandonment solidified their decision to resist and refuse. Worth the thought and consideration, then speaking to “now”…

The Frate Indovino Italian calendar/almanac, now my annual tradition, brings me back to a warm, welcoming kitchen of an elder who genuinely felt, cared and tried to express those sentiments with as candid a look and word as he was able to summon at the time. Often, these emotive depths are transmittable to those who have experienced them, often regardless of age. But with time, it is the Love, compassion desire to discover, understand and share in the lives of others that brings Light. Try more silence, introspection, listening to thought in tune with heartstrings, and allow the rise of consequential actions however small they may seem.

Today’s “paisana” reflection on the Frate Indovino Italian calendar/ almanac feels as though it may be a deep dive of reflection for those in Davos, DC or on TV…(photo credit: https://it.freepik.com/foto-gratuito)
Loosely translated, “Chatter, blather, flim-flam, gossip don’t make flour.”