Whoever said “I’d rather be lucky than talent” perceived the essence of life.
People are afraid to admit how much luck in life is terrifying to think that it is so out of control.
I was more or less twenty when I entered the world of photography and I certainly thought I had talent, a lot of talent – even if I didn’t even know where to start but, perhaps, this naive cheekiness, which characterizes young people, helped me, at least I believe it.
Today I understood, thanks also to Woody Allen and Match Point, however, that it is not about talent but luck.
Yes, my luck were the people I met and that today I jealously guard in my heart, because it is just like when you meet a person and you fall in love with him: you do not know what that person is but you recognize that there is something special for you, just as Letizia Battaglia says.
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The point is that it is not always easy to recognize what is right for you: meeting a person means clashing with a new reality, new ideas, new goals and sometimes they stray so far from us that in reality, yes, we fall in love with them, we are intrigued but (s)he destabilize us and, at times, force us to come to terms with our reality and to admit our mistakes and our limitations. One word, or maybe two, would be enough: adaptability to change.
And it is when we can no longer find a meeting point that we must have the courage to let go.
My daughter Desirèe was about to be born and I found myself with a handful of flies in my hand, I had to decide whether to go forward or go back. I was convinced that it was the right way, today I am convinced that at the time I was already looking for my happiness but I still didn’t know it. To talk about happiness, however, we need to take a step back and retrieve the definition that Aristotle gives to the word happiness: happiness in Greek is eudaemony which means the good realization of the demon, of virtue.
If it is true that words have weight, we must also be able to use them.
To be a poet, after all, we must know how to use words and even before that, we must look for the right words, choose them: beauty began just when someone began to choose.
I have chosen, I have chosen to be happy, I have chosen to follow my demon.
The last person I met, fortunately, is Federica Mari and my biggest thanks go to her for allowing me to tell my story: once again, my luck, are the people that I meet and who have decided to share with me their experience, their fears and their mistakes.
My speech at the Assisi workshop comes at a particular moment in my life, in which I became aware of many things – even of myself – and I am ready to tell, obviously after choosing the right words.
It was my turn, I started talking but Francesco Gravina interrupted me, ND Studio and Giacomo Terracciano had come to surprise me. After me Edoardo Agresti presented his book and the day ended with a nice glass of gin and tonic and lots of good chat with friends.
Federica Ariemma, Fabio Mirulla and Susana Barbera, the three masters of the following three days, told us about their vision of photography, where they came from and what their goal is.
The watchword of this month is definitely sharing and sharing is the main tool through which we can evolve, learn, discover and give meaning to things, analyze, re-elaborate our thoughts and improve ourselves: sharing is essential for the our growth, as well as professional, also personal.
People are the real magic!