I once lived on a hill in Tuscany above the Abbey of San Galgano. There was talk locally of a Russian Film Director who had been making a film thereabouts and I learned that it was Andrei Tarkovsky, an art school hero of mine. The protagonist in the film, Andrei Gorchakov is a poet in exile and he is struggling with the superficiality of life in Italy and longs for the deeper darker melancholia of his life in Russia. There is a scene in the film Nostalghia (1hr.24 mins in) where, in a rain drenched ruin, he meets a little girl, and he asks her 'Are you happy?' And she answers ' 'Happy with what?'. He says with life, and she answers 'With life yes'
The subject of happiness has popped up a lot these past weeks.
Initially, I was asked by a friend if I was happy and I gave the answer that happiness, to me, is like the wind, that it blows sometimes warm and fragrant, sometimes cold and brittle and in fact that it is never the same, never constant.
But the question has made me want to define it to myself.
If I catch the wind in my hand, is it still the wind?
Questions then, that I have begun to ask myself.
When am I most happy?
In which situations am I not happy?
Do I think some people are born happy and others not?
Isn't perhaps the pursuit of happiness a more noble aspiration?
Are happy children more likely to become happy adults?
Does schooling take away a child's happiness?
Is a simple life a happier life?
Are gardeners happy souls?
Are creative people happier than social media addicts?
Are dog owners happier than most other folks?
(The Dalai Lama was once asked the secret of happiness, and he answered 'Buy a dog')
So there you are, go out and buy a dog.
Alternatively, you might like to sign up for one of our workshops in Italy.
Springtime and early summer breaks in the mountains of La Sibilla, the Nature Goddess.
Write to Michael for further info about our retreats and workshops
