The Country House

The air here is distinctively crisp, fresh and pure – not like at home. The birds swoop in and out of the trees and the soft breeze rustle the array of bottle green leaves. Beams of sun disperse through the tree branches creating natures light show, a performance only an awakened mind could appreciate.

I’ve been a city girl for so long, wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of London. The air is toxic; there is noise everywhere. I become uncomfortable with silence when there is a whole city waiting for me, as it’s a city that never seems to sleep. Here it is quiet, and as the days have passed I’ve succumbed to the silence. Hearing nothing but nature is cleansing for the mind - it’s a feeling like no other.

We are only human. Sometimes everyday life can swallow us whole. We get caught up in work, studying, and the daily to-do list...sometimes we just need to pause and take a deep breath. So many times I’ve crumbled when faced with situations because I’ve thought it was the be all and end all. It’s not, it never is.

We need to – I need to – get comfortable with the silence, embrace it, appreciate it for what it is.

The only sound I can hear is the soft crunching beneath my feet as I walk over the crispy grass, dehydrated from the sweltering summer just gone. The ground is thirsty but the trees flourish with ripe figs and walnuts. We study the fig tree. My auntie Paola says the softer the fig, the riper it is; so we fill the old wicker basket with the best fruit on the tree, my auntie opening a few on the way round to taste the sweetness and offering one to me every now and then.

The country house was one of my granddad’s favourite places here in Italy. It’s secluded, tucked away in the hills and I start to understand why he loved it so much, the peace and quiet is overwhelming. It's the kind of feeling that could entice you to pack everything up and stay here forever, just living off the land and finding comfort in the sunrise that stretches across the hills or the blanket of stars at night – tempting?

However, being away from somewhere most familiar to me makes me appreciate the familiarity. I could easily lose myself here in the Italian countryside, but strangely enough, I think I’ve found myself. I’ve achieved what I came here to do, and although there’s a rocky road ahead, I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I’m coming home embracing the life I had before, but this time with the tools and knowledge I need to change what needs to be changed, and to appreciate what’s already there to be appreciated.Welcoming the silence makes everything else seem not so loud anymore. Maybe I could be a country girl after all?

LAURA