“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

• Henry David Thoreau

My mom went to India several years ago as part of a cultural group with Rotary International. She was there for an entire month, touring cultural sights and bringing western culture and ideas to Rotary groups and people in India. She and the group she was with stayed in homes of Rotary members and really immersed in the culture. My mom loved it and still talks about it to this day. For months she would make true Indian dishes, and I would eat them and my stomach did not take to them very well. I loved the flavor and the taste  is quite different from the Northern Italian Americanized food I am used to, it just would wreak havoc.

This photograph is of a sample of marble from a quarry owned by one of the Rotarian’s, my Mom loved the color and thought it would be something I would like, and when she travels we tend to get unique mementos of her travels. This muted green, grey, tan and black marble traveled back with her from India, via Rome, London and Chicago, and was in my Photography studio office and eventually made its way into my bedroom sitting near the marble Chess set. I used to hope for a t-shirt or a touristy trinket of some kind, and she would always come back with something more interesting.

I still have all of these gifts, a few of which are t-shirts but I never wear them much. I used this as a coaster for a while in my office, oiled it with lemon oil to bring out more depth, dusted it, packed it, moved it and unpacked it and put it in my room. I look at this all the time and I am reminded that life is a journey and we must enjoy it all and be willing to take a risk or two.