When in Rome....

Well, I made it...I am in the old country. I had a bit of a rough start, including walking the streets with a piece of pizza in one hand and my dads hanky in the other, periodically sobbing, lol...ok, not sobbing, but that sounds so much funnier. I met a group of American girls that night and they invited me to see the Vatican with them the next day, which was like a divine intervention :)

So all day at the Vatican...what an amazing place. I even got blessed by the Papa! The pope comes out on Wednesdays at 11:00...you are supposed to get a ticket but we didn't have one. Apparently that was not an issue as the guards just let us right in. Then we went to the Vatican museums which was amazing and so filled with beautiful art. By four I was getting pretty tired and the girls I was with were still going strong. So I told them to go ahead and I would try to find them. I wanted to stay and meditate in the Sistine Chapel. This was a sweet moment for me. Afterwards I was ready for some more and went to St. Peters Basilica (after getting the first of many gelatos in Italy :)

A bit of what I wrote in my journal at St. Peters:
Life is a prayer...where have I heard those words before?
As I sit in this magnificent church, I watch people kneel down and pray - they sit next to me and bless themselves - look at Jesus, the embodiment of light, of love. They kneel and pray and ask for the grace that has already been bestowed on us. Grace that is all around if we would just open our eyes and see.
There is a lot of silence here.
Grace...I feel steeped in Grace...I give thanks.
(For my family - I thought of grandma, who, even when she could barely walk, would kneel upon entering a church. I think of how I have been shown devotion to God my whole life and how blessed I am for this. I thank my family for this, but especially my mother, who allowed me to love God the way it was most comfortable for me, thank you mom, you are amazing and I love you.)

When I got back to the hostel I received an email from my TM teacher in response to my struggles the previous day. It simply had one quote: If the doors to perception were cleansed,everything would appear to us as it is, infinite. - William Blake
Thank you Linda.

I would be lying to say that I dont feel like I am on a roller coaster ride. Right now I am struggling with the feeling of being out of my path, my dharma, for those of you who understand that concept. I keep thinking about the work I feel like I should be doing. Perhaps it will get better when I start working on a farm, which will hopefully be starting on Saturday or Sunday. I need to get the hell out of Rome before I have no money left, lol.

I better get rolling. Going to see the Colosseum today, I figure I will get in as much as I can while I am here. I am meeting up with my friends Kirk and his new bride Jena tomorrow and I am really looking forward to that. I hope all is well with everyone...send me some love when you get the chance...thanks to everyone who already has.

love, peace, and blessings.