In the middle of this crisis I looked at the sky

We get so down. People are so out of it lately. Discouraged, depressed, just sort of different.
They have lost their "umph". That's a thought that I often have, living in Italy, comparing the fun-loving attitude that I often feel when in the States. Living in Europe is different. It's an old continent, we are surrounded by old buildings, old monuments, and gorgeous scenery, right out our windows, and definitely all around our towns, often hilltowns like where I live, in Perugia.

Today I walked away from the center of town, all the way down the beautiful stairs leading up to Porta Sole, which is on an amazing top of a hill in Perugia.

I was struck with awe. I stopped. I looked, and I couldn't believe what I saw. Strangely enough, I felt the same way when I looked at this view just two days ago. It is so so beautiful, it just stops one automatically, just to stare at the beauty: the blue blue sky, the rolling hills that never end, the tops of old buildings and houses, and church towers, that in the last part of the day, are bathed in a golden glow. The clouds decorate the sky, here and there, and in the background, creating a masterpiece, more than 180° of beauty, as if it was all from a master's painting.

And there I was, again, just stopped in my tracks. Looking at the sky, and the hills, and the buildings and the colors and the light caressing rooftops, brightening hilltops. Once again I realized why this place is so beautiful, overwhelmingly so.

It is a gift. When one is down, you just have to look up. You have to appreciate all this "free" beauty, it is right there to be appreciated. Don't forget to look. Nature is there for us all.