tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12418972207479939052024-03-14T03:53:05.834-04:00dalla vite alla vigna.sowing the seeds, setting the pattern, trusting the universe.Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-63026851316691824822012-02-02T00:03:00.003-05:002012-02-02T00:05:11.962-05:00happy february!And a belated happy new year, dear readers! I am a little behind, as you can see...
I began this semester with several unfinished projects to complete, and I am still struggling to find the time to finish them amidst the hustle and bustle of a new schedule of courses, teaching, and very limited extracurriculars. And for weeks now I have felt this unfinished business hanging over my head, Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-19426780301947596552011-11-26T00:01:00.000-05:002011-11-26T00:01:20.914-05:00so very thankful.In this time of thanksgiving, I have been reflecting on how blessed I truly am. I am surrounded by people who love and support me; I am doing something that finally challenges me, and every day I strive to rise to this challenge; I have all of the resources, inner and outer, that I need to sustain me. I am grateful for all that I have experienced, for it has made me into who I am today.
But a Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-32346657535905653432011-11-20T22:59:00.000-05:002011-11-20T22:59:48.062-05:00a year and a day.A year and a day ago, I thought I was ready to emerge from my silence. But life had other plans for me: new challenges and opportunities arose, and I chose to address them without recourse to the virtual world. And so the silence endured. But now I am back, and longing to share with you many tales, dreams, and goals, from that summer onward— when I say 'stay tuned', this time I mean it! :)
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-22648163126120393532010-11-19T00:57:00.000-05:002010-11-19T00:57:24.920-05:00out of the silence, sound.After a summer of wonder and growth and discovery, and the coming of a glorious autumn, I am back. I did not intend to be silent for so long: I simply needed some time to myself, in the real world, in which I was not thinking about the virtual world, but really, truly, being present. Not an easy task to accomplish: a daily struggle, in fact, but a beautiful one. And so, I am here, speaking once Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-46240642223823795892010-05-02T22:28:00.006-04:002010-05-02T22:33:55.244-04:00the final push.In ten days I will have completed my first year in graduate school; one presentation and four papers stand between me and summer, but I can practically taste it. Here in the northeast summer seems to have arrived early. The past few days have been sunny, humid, and upwards of 80 degrees– my summer skirts have finally been released from their dusty prison in the back of my closet! Last night I Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-46861144456613624132010-04-26T11:35:00.000-04:002010-04-26T11:35:59.410-04:00currently loving... olive & a!Hello everyone! Today the lovely Heather of olive & a has posted my list of things I am currently loving... check it out, and take a look through her beautiful blog!
http://oliveanda.blogspot.com/2010/04/stellas.html
xo StellaStellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-35695345920458309762010-04-15T18:15:00.001-04:002010-04-16T16:48:28.999-04:00solvitur ambulando.I agree wholeheartedly with the Augustinian saying solvitur ambulando, it is solved by walking; as I place one foot before the other, my mind in turn is calmed, my thoughts flow, and I am able to work through things. This primarily occurs when I walk alone, yet such moments shared with others have also had a profound effect upon my thinking about a situation.
Certain instances stand out in my Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-39025744392716590092010-04-07T21:33:00.000-04:002010-04-07T21:33:44.524-04:00talent, the double-edged sword.For about as long as I can remember, things have come naturally to me; in writing, languages, and music, I have been blessed enough to rely upon my talents, and have achieved wonderful things. I graduated summa cum laude from a prestigious university, became fluent in Italian in less than two years, and worked as a professional musician and teacher, to name a few. And although I work hard Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-76908634565410027202010-03-24T13:25:00.002-04:002010-03-24T13:27:22.237-04:00benedetta primavera.It is officially a few days into spring, and it certainly is showing! I am reminded of what a difference a couple of months can make, even in Venice, albeit subtly... distinctions between the seasons are naturally blurred in the island city, due to its relative lack of foliage. When living there a few years ago, I recall longing for the autumn colors of my youth in New England; here a Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-81712957160023390382010-02-25T21:52:00.001-05:002010-02-25T22:59:43.620-05:00re-centering & summer hints...Ciao a tutti! It has been quite some time since I've posted, and I wanted to let you all know that I've enabled comments, so leave me some love!
I have recently been plotting my next great European adventure (!!) which will be taking place this summer... here are a few hints: it will be starting with about a month in Germany––something new! And then I will venture south of the Alps to warmer Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-21437234753123482262010-01-15T16:23:00.002-05:002010-01-17T01:10:17.827-05:00thank you, universe.Some people just have big hearts, Stella. And with this gift they're very often able to feel, offer, and show far more love than they receive from those around them. Which, at times, is a heavy load to bear. So today I'd like to remind them, and especially you, that the sun asks not that the moon and planets help brighten each day, but relishes her role as a keeper of the light and a bringer of Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-71636488002876048372010-01-12T12:06:00.003-05:002010-01-17T12:11:48.814-05:00wanderlust and wonder."We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world… And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again—to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more."
-Pico Iyer
http://www.salon.com/travel/feature/2000/03/18/why/
I am yearning to travel again, to pack the lightest suitcaseStellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-20676176475940308762010-01-01T23:01:00.002-05:002010-03-24T13:27:57.554-04:00all is new!Here's to 2010: may it be a year of love, light, and blessings.
This year my greatest project is to finally get in shape, and maintain it. Once my body is a fit channel, all other aspects of myself will function better as well, emotional, mental, spiritual. I want to truly be in my body, for it is the temple of the living God. I must honor it!
I will also meditate daily, to continually Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-13357710754439799192009-12-11T23:59:00.002-05:002010-01-16T11:41:24.746-05:00The Light in the PiazzaTonight I took myself out on a lovely date: octopus carpaccio and a glass of pugliese red wine, followed by the theater. I finally saw The Light in the Piazza, and it was lovely, lush, lyrical. And of course I was overcome with waves of nostalgia as my mind wandered back to Firenze, where I, too, first fell in love. What a time of wonder and discovery it was for me… so much hope, and joy, and Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-26729637144399742872009-12-01T15:15:00.005-05:002010-03-24T20:23:35.887-04:00girasoli."They are spectacular whilst in full bloom, they brilliantly colour the landscape for a few weeks but, soon after, when they begin to fade, there is a long, slow deterioration for at least a couple of months."
[http://www.tuscanyandumbria.typepad.com/]
on sunflowers. rings true on so many levels… when I read this my head spun for a moment, with echoes of memories of a fleeting and faraway time.
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-38992034501693629812009-11-24T16:28:00.004-05:002010-02-10T01:46:48.833-05:00la città eterna.For some reason, when November comes around, I am always drawn back to my first visit to Rome...
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-20086892030504900812009-11-22T17:28:00.001-05:002010-01-16T11:41:24.751-05:00gratitude.As I walked home today, I reflected on just how blessed I am, and was overcome with gratitude. There are so many things that we take for granted. A beautiful body, an open heart, a sound mind, a pure spirit, for starters. Grace, so much grace that my cup veritably runs over with it. I know that I have earned it (if not in this life then in the last!) and yet that it is a gift from the universe toStellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-6193057426392156482009-11-15T12:04:00.002-05:002010-02-10T01:48:06.153-05:00glorious autumn.
Through a lace-trimmed window...
Down a lovely little street...
In a small, neighborhood park...
Along a Victorian row...
Wouldn't it be lovely to live there? :)
Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-5332569176034074212009-11-05T22:49:00.006-05:002010-11-19T01:13:24.325-05:00l'amore."Amatevi come compagni di viaggio, con questo pensiero d’avere a lasciarvi, e con la speranza di ritrovarvi per sempre."
—A. Manzoni, I Promessi sposiStellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-19641374044577540592009-10-26T23:40:00.003-04:002010-01-16T11:41:24.753-05:00shadows of love, or some semblance thereof.It is [and has always been] about the experience. Let go, and don't be afraid.
So I had a rather startling and yet obvious thought tonight: I was dwelling on the heaviness in my heart, on the void that I have felt since the end of my first love, shadows of which have lingered on. And then I asked myself: what is it that I truly miss? Is it him? Am I not over him? It's not about him. It hasn't Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-31644244446347298572009-07-31T11:04:00.005-04:002010-01-16T11:41:24.755-05:00magnetic poetry!composed on the fridge last night, in Wesley and Alan's apartment in London:
loss
after the autumn
those dreams would come
like a sweet flood
like a sound from far away
only a wise lone heart
could see rose & gold
in the dark
once our hour was gone.Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-40630566549645406372009-03-06T19:32:00.007-05:002010-01-16T11:41:24.757-05:00knowingness.What a momentous time this is in my life. I see many possible pathways before me, and will choose one within the next month or two (or few...), one which may very well be the beginning of my professional career. Whether it is pursuing a PhD, or teaching, or even working nine-to-five, it will be the next step along my journey. And the fact that all is still so open, so full of potential and Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-1952526206264929182009-02-01T21:44:00.010-05:002010-11-19T01:15:05.996-05:00primavera.Outside a blanket of snow covers the chilled earth. And yet, this morning, I was greeted by the chirping of birds outside my window. I drew back the curtains and observed. Two cardinals perched upon a long branch in the fir tree; chickadees dashed about in circles, finally landing on the yew hedge below. They sang to me, "even in the midst of winter, spring will come again." It is not as far off Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-56173584593008810492008-11-30T23:48:00.004-05:002010-01-16T11:47:25.055-05:00the path & the calling.I am in the midst of a process of letting go of many things, but most of all of a love that grew too difficult to sustain. The past several days have been so excruciatingly slow and difficult, minutes dripping slowly from one to the next, time standing nearly still as I sift through and simmer in so many feelings. I am drawing them all out from the recesses of my mind, and trying to face them Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1241897220747993905.post-51651652413499385162008-11-01T17:12:00.003-04:002010-01-16T11:41:24.762-05:00beginnings.The first of the month: a time of new beginnings. Of change, momentous change. And thus I have decided to record my thoughts here in this medium, to release them into the collective consciousness, for I feel that there is a universality in much of what I have to say. We are all beings of love, hope, desire, fear, longing, each of us struggling to find our place in the world, to discover what it Stellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00903443227604022733noreply@blogger.com0