This past summer I often found myself thinking about harmony as opposed to conflict.
I don’t feel comfortable dealing with conflict, either if I am part of it or if I am just witnessing it. My nature is often aiming for compromising, in order to reach an harmonic solution and sometimes I end up compromising too much…In my work I often wish that the different guests who are coming to stay at Il Cucciolo will be happy and will contribute to create an harmonic atmosphere.
For this reason I am particularly happy looking back at the summer almost over. I see all the relationships, the friendships, the connections created by our guests during their vacation and they are all special.
Every time we have a new arrival, I am a little anxious about how the newcomer would like our place , the apartment, our organisation (or lack of it…), our sometimes very familiar ways, our using the first person instead of the Italian more formal third person, our sharing of spaces, our rules about living together between humans and dogs, and so on… Also, the new guests would get along (humans and pets alike)? Would they perceive as an invasion a certain level of sharing that our place is made about?
It is true our five apartments are independent, there is plenty of space to take private walks, our dog field is very large and if some dogs don’t get along there are other fields where to go and let the dogs run. But I notice ever more often a desire of sharing, of socialising, more than a desire for isolation. And that feels good!
I witnessed the birth of some special friendships this summer and I have lots of group pictures, memories of a great summer: some of these groups may continue to exist elsewhere… sometimes even if the dogs don’t think so. And that is ok too!
