Meaning: Let’s cross over – Italian
You may remember this word from a popular book made movie from almost a decade ago – Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. In this story, Elizabeth, the author and main character, seems to have it all – husband, country home, successful career—but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed by panic and confusion. She leaves behind all these outward marks of success and sets out to explore three different aspects of her nature against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. While in Italy, she begins to learn a few Italian words, and Attraversiamo was one that she fell in love with because of the way that it sounded. To her, it embodied all of the beautiful parts of the Italian language. I agree… it’s a beautiful word… and has a meaning that can be used describe so many phases in life.
Reflecting over this past decade, I have experienced Attraversiamo in almost all aspects of my life. Some were inevitable – like the phase of raising my daughter and son, to entering the empty nest phase and watching them spread their wings. Entering a new phase of motherhood when my daughter married the love of her life. Turning 50 (gulp)!
Other cross over moments have come by making choices. Some choices exciting and adventurous, while other choices have been scary and risky. Some of the exciting choices made have been my husband and I moving from Colorado to Arizona in 2013 ‘just because’, and making a dream come true by finding a solid way to spend more time by the calming shores of the gulf coast (read my post from March 12, 2018 about my happy place).
On the more scary and risky side, there are the choices I’ve made in my career and the way that I’ve made them – taking a symbolic jump into a metaphorical white cloud and not knowing what might be on the other side (which by the way I’m still navigating, but so far I’m liking what I’m seeing).
My point here is that we all have moments of cross over in our lives… everyday. Some are natural and inevitable. Some we ponder on for a long time before we actually experience Attraverisamo. It’s an interesting reflection, and one I’d recommend we all take. What are your cross over moments? Not only the ones that are natural and inevitable, but the ones that are transforming who you are and what you do every day.
Throughout Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, the concept of Attraversiamo remains symbolic through the entire story… all the way to the end. I, too, believe that “Let’s cross over” is a physical, emotional, symbolic, and metaphorical concept that I will likely embody all the way to the end.