Where do you find inspiration?
(the start of) Chapter 2
The Mosaic in Italy
I once viewed a work of art that even the thought of still sends waves of adrenaline and goosebumps through me simultaneously. It was the feeling of being “complete,” or completely filled with emotion, with warmth seeping throughout my body and mind. This vision was real, with my thoughts transcending my reality at the time.
My mother took me to Rome for my 21st birthday, and as a flight attendant, it was wonderful to offer her son. Strolling through the Vatican and the ruins was marvelous. The place made me realize the immense history of our planet, and how the prominent cultures and empires made their marks. It led me to reflect on personal thoughts and wrap my head around this wonder of the world, an historic place man created and destroyed.
As my mother guided me through the sites to the Sistine Chapel, I was stunned at the imposing wall constructed to protect Vatican City. Crossing an intersection, the late morning sunlight warmed my face on a cool February day. The sun radiated a golden hour hue and broke my fascination with the giant wall long enough to redirect my attention back to the corner from which I came. There, in the glowing light, was a beautiful mosaic art piece, created on the entire side of a small, three-story building. The mosaic depicted the Virgin Mary, looking so wholesome, fresh, and alive. With just a quick glance, I felt it was such an appropriate sight. Her presence there fit the big picture of Italy, with its history of artists and the Catholic world headquarters. She kept watch over it all from across the street. Then the picture got bigger.
I noticed a short, weathered-faced, older woman bundled in the necessary cold weather garments of black coat and dark headscarf, just standing in front of the Virgin Mary. With her hunched posture and solemn expression, the woman was a perfect contrast to the tall, majestic beauty above her. The woman looked as if she had walked these streets for 80-plus years, but it could have been 500. She looked not desperate, not begging, but close to needing assistance.
The energy from this amazing, sunlit image ignited a thought within me. A jolting and shocking perspective of who I was, and why I was there, at that moment, with my eyes and young adult brain, to interpret such an image. It took me many years to put it into words… it took until now!
It is remarkable how small and minute each person is in the game of life. Billions of insignificant people could never add up to the power of the Virgin Mary and what she represents to people of Catholic faith, or all the things an 85-year–old, Italian woman on the streets of Rome has experienced and witnessed. I thought no matter what I do, I probably couldn’t reach the level, status, or prestige of Martin Luther King, Jr., a U.S. president, or a global peacemaker like Gandhi. But what I promised myself was — right there, at that moment, without using any words — in my world, my area, my community, I would do what I could to make a difference. I would shine my light for others and attempt to create a meaningful life, motivating others to do the same. In those few seconds, just an instant, I felt the overpowering need to be significant, to be extraordinary, extra ordinary! I felt the moment. A had a fresh, unique, and inspiring perspective of myself. I felt different. (Crap, I just turned 21 — I was a legit adult!)
Since the Italian experience occurred 10 years before the Internet became the sharing platform it is now, I decided to share my positive energy and global acceptance with those who would embrace it and hope for a ripple effect to occur. These pages are the lapping waves of my ripple effect, the fingerprints of my life as I reflect on it from heaven.
