Beauty & Truth

One of my favourite quotes ever is by the reknowned author Gibran Khalil Gibran and it goes:
"of life's two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer's hand".  I love this quote because, as a typical human, the two things I constantly think about are my loved ones and my career whether it be academic or professional. This weekend I met a family who provided me with some perspective about beauty and truth.

Before I got to meet this family on Saturday evening, we drove an hour and a half West of Cagliari to pay a visit to the City of Iglesias where Porto Flavia Mine is located. The whole way to Iglesias was decorated with scenes from what seems like one of a world where all that exists is earth and water.

Iglesias, Sardegna

The thing with beauty is, it never gets old. I have seen many a coastline before but I always find myself in astonishment at the unbelievable majesty of the drumming ocean waves, blue as ever rumbling and scurrying onto the tiny sedated grains of sand. The reason we always search for beauty, I think, is to get that moment that takes our breath away back even if it is just for a second.

It's in these moments for me, that I find truth in life and it's the primary reason I travel. To become a better rounded person and to understand the world I was brought into a little more.

Which brings me to the lovely little family we met when we went to our next destination. It was a bed & breakfast farm ("agriturismo", learnt a new Italian word) called Sa Perda Marcada. The animals I met totaled to 4-5 horses, 2 rude geese, 1 extremely buff turkey and too many chickens running around to count at once. They grew and bred what they ate. From the minus 24 hours that we were there for, we ate 3 meals, all of which were freshly prepared. This is a mighty feat for 3 ladies to cook for over 20 people in that amount of time.

The family that we met had a very excited grandmother, a shy sister and our gracious hostess and her adorably energetic little son Inerio and his pet labrador Nuvola Nikita shown in the picture below. His father never made an appearance but the pictures displayed a happy marriage.

Nuvola Nikita (left) & Inerio (right)

When I met Inerio was the moment I absolutely fell in love with this family, puppy and farm. His mother had been inside all day teaching us how to make homemade pasta from food she and her family work everyday to grow and nourish. I had gone outside to make a phone call when I saw the little yellow Labrador excitedly running towards me and the little boy trailing happily behind. When everyone else met him he showed us his toy trucks, miniature ATV and taught a few of us how to kick a football around on the grass. He was the happiest boy in the world and every time he called for his mother she always answered him with unconditional adoration "si, mi amore?" They are all very happy people who enjoy every part of their life from the professional aspect and the personal. Isn't that what we all want?

Bedroom Exterior (photo taken by Anna Murphy)

Of all the things we did in the past two days Porto Flavia, the Roman ruins, cooking, and the beach, Agriturismo Sa Perda Marcada was what really closed this short getaway in a beautiful and happy way. The landscape was absolutely stunning and the people captured my heart with their charming and authentic life and I am so happy to have gotten the opportunity to live it even if it was just for a short time, it took my breath away.