We suffer dizziness from our eyes darting in so many directions. We look forward to Canadian family and friends, backward to Italian memories and moments, inward to evaluate learnings and life lessons, and Upward to again be ever grateful.
In all these views, time has been the common essence. We have written previously of the different approach the Italian mind has to time management and we have had a few more late dinner chats about it.
Madelaine L'Engle, author of Walking on Water, writes about two types of time, chronos, our wristwatch time, and kairos, real time - the time we are being. In chronos we find restrictions, deadlines and wrinkles appearing, whereas in kairos , there is a suspension of restriction, it is unmeasurable. It is the cup of coffee with the friend, a Sunday afternoon tea with grandma, a child lost in their play, or an artist creating. Kairos is unrelated to chronos. Italians embrace kairos not chronos.
This came to another practical and fun realization in the measurement of distance. We, Canadians measure distance in time. For example, we say," How far is Kelowna from Vancouver? 4 hours (except when Sandy is driving in the summer!). Whereas an Italian would answer; "380 kms - You get there when you get there. One never knows, we may stop at the auto grille for a picnic, there may be a bus strike...alora, okay!?!" They would never dream of answering in chronos, because they live more in kairos...
Our chronos Time out in Tuscany is fast ticking down but our kairos Time Out in Tuscany will always be.
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