Wanderings

and here i am in my bedroom of a country guesthouse in umbria, italy, bird calls and rainfall outside, cat asleep on the bed beside me, cold, cozy, pleasant. books on "creative meditation and multi-dimensional consciousness," "the spiritual in art," "the archaeology of consciousness," line the surfaces, a borrowed guitar leans against the wall. the art monastery project is a vision of a collaboration of artists, musicians, dancers, coming to live and perform and teach in the italian countryside. the intended monastery is under endless negotiations and renovation and so the project is in flux; tonight, the directors of the project, Chris and Betsy, are in Rome talking business proposals for a new town and monastery. the location: Labro, a gorgeous hillside haven with a year-round population of 30.

the other day four of us, plus a dog, went on a reconnaissance mission to towns and monasteries all over the countryside to scout the ideal location. i was the official undercover photographer. it was not a bad way to spend an afternoon. and so now the project might be moving to Labro, and there are any number of jobs, such as volunteer co-ordinator, available, and the present volunteer co-ordinator lives in the nearby town Narni, as in Narnia, as in the inspiration for the books, in a medieval tower turned art studio, with her Italian playwright/actor/director boyfriend. this could be my life, is a thought that, believe me, has been kicking around in my head ever since i've been here. it's all so intensely perfect and in the flow that i'm not quite sure what the universe wants me to do with the situation, so i think i'm just going to sit back and wait for it to do me. hah.