The sunflower turns to the sun. Their face follows the sun as it moves across the sky. I find myself praying. Praying for peace. My sister sends me an affirmation. This week I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what’s important. In the end love is all that matters. Each morning this week I’ve woke with fear in my throat. Reading the news terrifies me. Images seem incomprehensible. Like a movie about WWII. Yet these are not actors. The machine guns and tanks are real. The tales are not a romantic notion of a time past but real people, real deaths. I think about what happens next. I’m strategic. I can see how the dominoes fall. The loss is real. It’s all real.

At the restaurant yesterday the waiter jokes, “we are replacing a green pass with a Geiger counter.” He jokes but I feel anxiety. I remind myself. #ChooseLoveNotFear I turn my face to the sun like the sunflower. I take peace in the Mister Rogers quote. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” How can I help? What can I do? Are we replacing Lockdown with WWIII? I find myself thinking about what it means to be a single woman living far from family in these times. It scares me. I understand I am safe but an uncertain world causes feelings of uncertainty. A friend in Germany calls. “Do you realize we are 800km- 500 miles from the Ukraine border?” Chernobyl. I Google random articles trying to understand a situation that’s not understandable. Margaret and I have work to do in Rome, but it’s easy to get lost in a tunnel of the news. We try to focus. I say an extra prayer of gratitude as we enjoy a privileged night out on the town. We are lucky. It’s hard to think of other things. I think of my Ukrainian friend Anna - quite simply one of the most beautiful and kindest women I know. And I think of another friend. Tania a Russian friend equally beautiful and kind who didn’t choose this. Whose nation has betrayed her heart. A friend who will be judged because of her nationality. And I pray for her too.

At this moment I’m at a loss of what to do so I pray for love, peace and courage. I turn to the light.

OUR SPONSOR:

Truly Venice is a trademark owned by Property Solutions, a Swiss based company that operates as an agent for property owners wishing to lease their properties for short and long term stays. The company was founded in 2007 by a small entrepreneurial team that sees a great opportunity in offering people all over the world an alternative accommodation to hotels going beyond the traditional tourist trip.

We aim to offer a personalised service, organizing restaurant bookings and taxi services, finding the appropriate meeting and exhibition space as well as offering flowers, special wines and food baskets. Property Solutions is a customer focused company that values your ideas, comments and thoughts. We encourage you to give us feedback on any aspect of our business, whether it be about the website, the service or one of our apartments.

WEBSITE: www.trulyveniceapartments.com

INSTAGRAM: @trulyveniceapartments