An Autumn Feast
In November 2018 I visit Florence. Because I have spent the last few days in Venice (which is rather claustrophobic) I now need to find nature – wide grassy slopes and trees. I head for Giardino di Boboli. There I find spectacular views of Florence and the surrounding hills. Hardly any other people are about so it is perfect. The light is constantly changing with the passage of clouds. Eventually those marching clouds bring steady rain, trapping a cold me for a time under my umbrella.
Later I wander over to the adjacent Giardino Bardini. Wherever I am, Filippo Brunelleschi’s enormous dome dominates the view. There is no ignoring Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. It is the last word in vast architectural statements!
Later that same day a fatigued me laments in my journal, “I simply can’t experience everything. It’s all too much – like an enormous banquet of food is laid out before me but I’m only one person so cannot possibly eat it all. I will try a little here and a little there but when I’m done, so much food will be left untouched. Such is life”.
Seeing this journal entry reminds me of my overwhelmed state of mind – anxious over so much abundance. (Note to self: one must be thankful for the spiritual food one tastes rather than fretting over what is yet to be sampled.)
Julie Podstolski - Abstract Realism 