Venetian Artisans and Letting Go of the Construct of Time
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about time. For years I’ve followed “productivity experts” and “thought leaders” on LinkedIn, reading book after book on how to maximize one’s time. On how I can best grow a business, write a book(s), solo parent a young teenager, learn a thousand new entrepreneurial skills, hobbies, manage relationships, friends, family, make time for myself, travel for exploration. There’s never enough time.
This is the week that I am giving up trying to control time. Not because of recent events (maybe, partly so.) Partly because I’m reading Four Thousand Weeks, a thoughtful book that stresses time is finite, and it’s about making the right choices. Partly because I want to enjoy the journey of life and not always be focused on the future, which I have been for most of my life, or focused on the end.
In other words, I’m making a concerted effort to enjoy the present as much as I can.
The other week I returned from nine days traveling through Venice and Bologna, Italy. It was a trip for work, but I also spent most of the time with my parents, who joined me and crossed off one more thing on their Bucket List by seeing Venice for the very first time. It was just the three of us, minus my two brothers and their families, minus my daughter— a rare occasion when I had them to myself, responsible for showing them the city my mother had dreamed of seeing for years.
Our first two days were full of blue skies and sunshine, then the remainder of our stay, the days were overcast with rain. Venice is a captivating city, but with the greenish-gray color of water in constant sight, the sporadic drizzles or downpours, cloudy skies and a recurring fog, there is also a pervading melancholy. Walking along car-free streets at night to our hotels after dinner, at times we found ourselves the lone pedestrians, sounds of our footsteps echoing through the silent air. Especially at night— Venice is not a city for the nocturnal. Yet there is a bittersweet beauty in its melancholy.
Despite the days of rain, it was a memorable time. I did my version of “Goldilocks in Venice” for the trip as well, where each night I stayed at a different hotel or conducted site visits of other notable and newly-opened hotels. (Contact me if you need immediate match-making advice for a hotel in Venice, but I will cover them in future posts.)
For two of the days we had a fantastic and knowledgeable local Venetian tour guide named Andrea, arranged through Wandernest partners on the ground in Italy. He took us deeper into Venice for an artisans’ tour, stopping in workshops along the way to get an idea of the creativity that has flourished in this city over the centuries. It gave us a sense of how long it takes to make a truly beautiful, quality piece of art, in many different forms, but meeting each artisan also opened our eyes to how quickly their crafts are fading. On this trip I learned that the only existing gold beater, a producer of fine gold leaf (also featured recently in Apple TV’s The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy) just announced his retirement. He is the last gold beater in Italy and Europe, no one trained or groomed to follow in his footsteps.
Between observing these wonderful artisans and learning their stories, how the demand for their craft and skills is diminishing in an ever-changing world— and spending those precious few days with my older parents, exploring a city that is one-of-its-kind, awash in water with sea levels rising— it’s no wonder the concept of time has been very much on my mind.
I’m taking a break from the productivity hacks for now. I choose to prioritize instead making memories to last a lifetime, for myself, for loved ones, and for clients for whom I truly enjoy designing these unforgettable experiences.
We all struggle with time, what is your approach with its construct? Please hit the button below to leave a comment and let me know your opinion, I would love for this to be a conversation!
To see a more authentic side of Venice, or to book the same artisans’ tour to experience a quieter side of the city, contact us at Wandernest to design your trip to Italy.
