It's scientifically proven jet lag is worse when travelling east than west. That means it's proven scientifically I respond in the opposite way. Personally I found it fairly easy to adjust on arriving in Spain, having a power sleep, a shower and ready to go. Now, a week and a half after our return home, I'm still dragging around. Ok, I do admit there's something to be said for the highly increased pace of activity, together with the sheer number of staggeringly beautiful scenes bombarding our senses for 10 days. Run here, go there, oh picture after picture, wait, go back, take one more. But did I have my camera set to identify where we were? Oh no, didn't even realize until after we got home.
The food in Italy is certainly to be enjoyed as one does a marathon of any kind. You know the drill, course after course, wondering when it might all end, bottomless glasses of wine taken in moderation, given the pace of our tour. After all, you dare not be fuzzy the next day when facing history head on. Nothing like home where considerable time might be spent preparing a meal after which, sit, eat, clean up, all in the span of about 15 minutes! Fortunately with the walking and climbing, mostly stairs rather than hills, not much of the fat remained glued to our hips.
Our hotel in Rome, while in a residential area, was a short drive to Vatican City. In just one day we had a personally guided tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel including Michelangelo's restored mural of the Last Judgment, followed by the breathtaking beauty of St. Peter's Basilica. On this trip there was no such thing as 'just another church'. St. Peter's in fact, is known to be the world's most beautiful church, built on the site where St. Peter was martyred. Even as I type these words I pause to take a deep breath, much like I did when we entered St. Peter's Square. All I can say is, it feels different, it feels special, it feels sacred and spiritual. I feel so honoured to be guided to see this most holy place where hundreds of millions of Catholics, and millions from other faiths, or none at all, worldwide turn their attention when in deep need of hope and encouragement. From there we visited St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and one of the 4 major basilicas in Rome.
For me, attending the Papal audience, along with Pope Francis' 15,000 or so other closest friends, was the highlight of the trip. We had VIP tickets which meant we were able to enter a seated area. Rather than feeling the need to work our way to any specific spot, we remained as a group sort of in the middle, meters away from the closest railing where Pope Francis cruised by in his open Popemobile. Apparently one had to be in line before 6 a.m. to hope for one of the cherished perimeter seats. It was overwhelming to be breathing the same air Pope Francis breathes, to catch a glimpse, oh then a good look and even a photo or two of the most popular Pope, I'm guessing in modern history. Many, many school children were in the audience, many early to mid teens. We sat a few rows behind one young person wearing a sweatshirt which said, on the back "I need a little reassurance today". Weren't they in the right place at the right time? Another youth literally buried himself inside his hoodie, at one point coming out only to pass around an e-cigarette. I decided then and there, he was someone I would pray for rather than becoming annoyed with his behaviour. Large screens allowed us a good view of the ceremony and fortunately for us, we heard a summary of the Pope's message in English. While one needed a ticket to attend the weekly audience, it's printed on the front: 'This ticket is entirely free'. At the end of the event, we all joined in singing the Our Father in Latin (found on the reverse of our ticket) and, finally, received the Papal Blessing.
After it was over, one could overhear many people discussing where they might go next, what they might see or do. In our case, we decided, at that time, to savour all that had just happened, and 'just be.' We didn't go anywhere. We didn't do anything. We absorbed the spiritual magic in the air, soaking up the positive energy of the experience. In some ways it was surreal, but truly one of those times where no number of photos or videos looked at from afar could replicate the feeling of being present in that moment. We were touched by the enthusiasm of so many students, standing on their chairs, clapping to a rhythmic beat while repeatedly chanting "Papa Francesco".
As if the Papal audience wasn't enough for one day, off we went to visit St. Paul Outside the Walls, another of the 4 major basilicas. Shame on me for not having taken history through high school. I may have known a little more about such places which date back centuries. On a humorous note, my son Matt, majored in History and Geography in University! He was fully familiar with all the places I tried to describe. Suffice it to say, I'm not trying to provide a historical essay of the places we visited. This Basilica in particular drew my attention by the fact the local church we attend here in Kingston, is St. Paul the Apostle. The sheer knowledge of being in the sacred place where St. Paul was buried somehow brings him to life in my heart and mind. Right in front of us lies historical evidence St. Paul really lived, born a Roman citizen, author of many letters of the Bible and having had personal first hand knowledge of Jesus.
Without going into detail after detail like watching 'slides of our vacation', I'd rather share how my overall experience was one of cementing my faith in a way that may hold up for time immemorial as it has for the people who lived in the days of Jesus. A worn out comment, I'm sure, to Mike throughout the tours was "How can people not believe Jesus was with the overwhelming amount of historical evidence in front of us sharing the same stories we continue to read and believe."
In the last couple of days of our tour of Rome, we had a full on tour of the Colosseum, which I could go on about for pages. Estimated to be the world's first major arena, seating upwards of 60,000, built in 8 years, could go from full to empty in a matter of 15-20 minutes thanks to 60+ public entrance ways, a fully retractable dome roof used at the pleasure of the Emperor and on and on. Construction began in 72 A.D. and completed in 80 A.D. I couldn't help but ponder, 'And we think we're so smart!?
A few places we could only see by doing walking tours, up and down the same cobblestone steps that have been tread upon by centuries of citizens, pilgrims, tourists and the like, oh if only they could share some of their stories of what went on above them. It was this way we could delight in the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, rebuilt in 118 A.D. after a fire and still mostly intact (imagine!?) and the Spanish Steps, a community gathering space, built for that reason. One wonders how one of the most visited cities in the world has been able to mesh not only old, but truly ancient, with the new(er). How do 5 million+ people share this relatively small geographic area, keeping things intact, respectful of the times and lives before them?
What I do know is we've returned home changed by the experience, definitely deeper in our faith and more settled in whatever God's plan might be for our lives. I wouldn't be truthful if I said I didn't go halfway around the world hoping, in some small corner of my heart, for a miracle. To come home free of illness. No, but what I have reconciled myself to, is if it's not in God's Will to heal me physically, may He heal me spiritually. May He give me strength to accept what's ahead, with dignity, humility and grace. It will mean taking definite steps on my part to release much of the past, accept my physical and emotional limitations and slow my pace from constant revving around 4000 rpm to a slow idle and, most importantly, giving myself permission to do so.
An oncology appointment on October 23rd brought news of the clinical trial everyone is so excited about, it hasn't opened yet. In fact, the host hospital, Princess Margaret in T.O. has not signed the contract yet; hopes are to have it complete by year's end. Sigh. But ok. I've held my own and then some through our travels and will now spend much quiet time recalling and reviewing the many fleeting thoughts I had, always at an inconvenient time to capture them in writing. Maybe they will come floating back like clouds in an otherwise blue sky, if I remain open and quiet. Our plan is to wait for the clinical trial in the hopes it has the desired effect of providing quality of life for the foreseeable future. And so, until then, we will live every day well, God willing, until we're not.
I received word today of a cat scan scheduled for November 20th followed up by a review with the oncologist on December 5th. Deep breath. Ok, I can deal with that. Only 3 weeks away. Another deep breath.
Until next time, let's all keep breathing,
Take care, hugs, and God Bless
Liz
dobbsjones@gmail.com
"Prayers wrapped in faith and sent with love are the greatest gifts we can receive."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to submit a comment about my posts.