Saturday, March 13, 2010

Who are we and what are we doing here? Chi siamo e cosa ci facciamo qui?

Sometimes, for a very brief moment, I think I know. Then I forget. Maybe it's best to forget what we think we know and start fresh.
I often wonder about the "road not taken" and the path we choose when we come to a fork in the road, and how that choice can drastically alter the course of our life. Actually I shouldn't say alter, I should say determine, because what we do is to go one way instead of another, one life instead of another. Yes, we make choices every minute of every day, but some of those choices have a way bigger impact than others. You know what I mean? Huge.
A volte, per un attimo, credo di sapere. Poi mi dimentico. Forse e` meglio dimenticarsi quello che si crede di sapere e ricominciare da capo. 
Penso spesso alla "strada non presa" e al sentiero che scegliamo quando nel nostro cammino arriviamo ad un bivio e a come quel sentiero altera il percorso della nostra vita. In effetti non dovrei dire altera, dovrei dire determina, perche` quello che facciamo e` di seguire una direzione anziche` un'altra, scegliamo una vita invece di un'altra. Si`, e` vero che facciamo delle scelte in ogni momento della giornata, ma alcune di quelle scelte hanno un grande impatto. Sai cosa intendo? Enorme.
We have no choice but to choose and most times we can't see where the path is taking us, we can only follow it. Non abbiamo altra scelta che di scegliere e il piu` delle volte non riusciamo a vedere dove ci porta la strada, possiamo solo seguirla.
This reminds of the Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken, even though the meaning is different and, although I have been making choices for a very long time, in some ways I haven't strayed far from my childhood: I still believe these are the caps of tiny woodland fairies. Tutto questo mi ricorda la poesia di Robert Frost, La Strada Non Presa, anche se il significato e` diverso, e penso che sebbene e` tanto ormai che faccio le mie scelte, per alcuni versi non mi sono discostata molto dalla bambina che ero: credo ancora che questi sono i cappellini di piccolissime fate del bosco. 

7 comments:

Christine said...

They are the caps of woodland fairies! Of course they are! Existential musings are the bane of my existence these days. Then I think, not the bane - well into my crone phase, existential thought is what gives us wisdom to impart to the young. :)
I love these woodland photos!

anna maria said...

Thanks, Christine. Not having any young ones upon which to bestow my wisdom, it is my dogs who have to listen, usually on our walks!

chrissy said...

this was a beautiful post.
i love the photo of the two pathways.
i also love that poem by robert frost, thank you for reminding me of it, i am going to go back and re.read it.
happy day to you dear friend.
c

anna maria said...

happy day to you too, Chrissy. Your smiling face reminds me of Artfest!

Leslie said...

I know exactly what you're talking about and often think about how things might be different. Tracing back to the decision that determined a life's path.

Stone Art's Blog said...

Lovely photos

John Giustina said...

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I'm a freelance photographer based in Eugene, Oregon.
I found your name via a friend of mine. I'm in need of advice on travel to Italy for an extended period. I'm sorry to contact through this blog but I'm finding it difficult to get any personal help through the consulate. Could you please email me at john@tazama.com and I can give you more information. Grazie, john