“Rolling on the grass, we laugh as awkward limbs remember freedom. When at last we
return to where we started. Without a second glance, we know that we’ve outgrown the
suits of armor. We won’t fit inside the too-tight shells again. Why would we even try?”
– Danna Faulds
We recently had one of those experiences where we knew we were changed, and nothing would be the same again. We felt FREE and that shifted who we are… forever.
The word FREE means something different to each of us. Travel has taught us that our culture and experience largely shape our diverse definitions of freedom. What we experienced this month is feeling FREE in a completely new way and we know this feeling is a privilege we will never take for granted.
Italian friends and neighbors in the Alps invited us to their family farm in Sardinia. We knew there would be a language barrier and we would be staying in someone’s home somewhere we had never been. We also knew these invitations were special. The ones you know you will take because you will be different on the other side of the experience. Full of excited anticipation, we boarded the 12-hour overnight ferry crossing knowing the adventure had already begun.
The moments we felt the most FREE snuck up on us like a perfectly wrapped box on Christmas morning:
Moments when we stumbled into a conversation where siblings and friends were speaking Sardo on the farm. It was as if we were hearing Latin, Arabic, Spanish, and Catalan notes all at once and the turbulence of the island’s past formed into this beautiful language.
Moments when we were invited into village homes on days we left the farm. Welcomed by our friends’ family with fresh pastries, drinks, and stories. Slowing down and listening means we take the ultimate gift with us when we leave; the story of a place, of a people, of a village, and of a time, that no longer exists and is yet very real.
Moments, when family members and friends would bring homemade tiramisu, fresh sardines, or a bushel of spring-harvested fava beans. The meal would become something communal and festive as if the holiday was today because we were all together.
Moments working on the farm and reaping the abundance of what it had to give us. We drank varieties of red and white wine and the best olive oil we have ever tasted harvested this past fall. Learning how to trim and tuck the vines, how to pluck the apricots and nespole at the perfect moment, and the taste of a freshly picked lemon with a sprinkling of sugar are things that will always be a part of our experience.
Moments where we realized we were a group of people from 16-90 living together on this beautiful farm for a period of time. It was never required we do anything and yet everyone seemed to move with purpose toward chores that were meaningful to them. Whatever we accomplished was enough.
Moments when we left the farm under the hot afternoon sun to explore this jewel of an island. Turquoise beaches, wild rugged cliffs, white sand, castles, and grottos we once thought only existed in our dreams. Sardinia is wild, beautiful, historic, refined, pristine, and full of wonder all in one breath.
Moments when our host, Manuela, put the finishing touches on a meal and called out, “tavola.” People would descend from all corners of the farm to wash up and sit around the outdoor table.
Moments when the sound of the bees in the rosemary and lavender hummed. The way the moths landed on a ripe nespole, the birdsong that knows when the dawn is breaking, the river we would drive through to get to the farm, the pomegranate trees bursting red blooms, alongside the mirto trees lacelike white flowers are images seared in our hearts. The apricots dripped in every variety, as the last lemons clung to their branches. There is harmony in nature and life on the farm. We slowly became a part of that balance as the peace became a part of us.
What is the secret to feeling FREE? Is it the community? Is it the food? Is it nature? Is it meaningful work? Is it time to play? Some studies try to measure and put titles to these feelings: Blue Zones, The China Study, Lifestyle Medicine, or the Longevity Study. In our experience, it is beyond description. It can only be captured by one feeling: FREE. As the introductory quote says, we are both returning back to who we truly are and becoming something new, knowing we won’t fit inside the too-tight shells again. We are FREE.
The patriarch of the property, Giovanni, felt a gentle breeze cool us on a hot day as we sat down to lunch al fresco after a productive morning of farm chores. He raised his arms and said, “La libertà .” Freedom.
The freedom we have found over the past decade as a nomadic family is not freedom from responsibility. Freedom is a responsibility because inherent in it is ownership of oneself and therefore one’s actions and footprint on the world.
There are so many things happening in our world today that jeopardize individuals’ ability to be FREE. If we are lucky enough to experience feeling FREE, it is our responsibility to practice it every day, and then maybe it will spread to others who need it the most. Our wish for this month of July, when Independence Day is celebrated in the USA, is for all the people of the world to know the joy of “a gentle laugh as our awkward limbs remember freedom.”
