Hi,

Ciao from Firenze.

I’m going to be really honest here.

I got to Italy, and as you know, my home is not exactly what I wanted.

But it has been exactly what I needed.

I used my voice. I asked for what I wanted. And when I couldn’t change it, I stopped fighting the answer.

That isn’t settling. That’s self-trust.

It’s a haven outside of the city. Being here is allowing me to become more planned and oriented while also surrendering to what it’s like to truly live here.

Most Florentines don’t live in the center of the city, where the majority of tourists come and go. They live outside of it, in the surrounding neighborhoods.

I’ll have the experience of living in the center in a month. But for now, I’m choosing to be fully present for the experience I’m having here.

What’s so beautiful is allowing myself to simply be in the Italian culture. I’ve only been here a week, so I’m excited to see what comes from this.

But one thing I’m already noticing is the art of being.

I saw this in Paris and as I traveled through the French countryside. They make an entire activity out of being rather than doing.

It’s celebrated. It’s simply part of the culture.

I don’t think the idea of hustling, grinding, pushing, and proving exists here in quite the same way.

One of my primary intentions for my time in Italy is to slow down to speed up, which I’ve talked about before. I want to allow more presence, more joy, and more pleasure.

Even with something as simple as my cup of coffee.

There aren’t giant ventis in Italy. In fact, Italians don’t understand why we would want to speed through drinking a ginormous cup of coffee.

Here, it’s about the sheer joy and pleasure of being with company, sipping a beautiful espresso, tasting it, and relishing it.

It isn’t about covering it with creams and syrups or making it three times the size.

It’s about enjoying what’s right in front of you.

This is something I’ve been sitting with since I arrived because, apparently, it’s odd to order three or four cups of coffee in one sitting.

But what I’m really getting at is the art of surrender and letting go of control—even with the simple things.

When I first arrived, the Wi-Fi wasn’t working. My home is beautiful, but there were certain things I had to figure out. I had to learn how to do laundry, navigate a new neighborhood, and understand how things worked here.

And this is a big part of living The Bold Life.

Yes, it’s exciting. Yes, Florence is amazing. And yes, I’m so excited and happy to be here.

But I’ve also been completely pushed out of my comfort zone and into places and spaces where I need to speak a different language, immerse myself in the culture, and really ask myself:

What does this land have for me?

Why was I called here?

What are the gifts waiting for me in this experience?

I also know that, when we’re living The Bold Life, whatever we resist often has our greatest dreams waiting on the other side of it.

So, when discomfort arises, I relish it because it means I’m growing, expanding, and doing something different.

I’ve learned to become friends with discomfort because it lets me know that I’m no longer operating as who I’ve always been.

I’m experiencing something new.

And that’s what I’m here for.

I’m here to allow my soul to lead.

To me, living a soul-led life means coming home to my soul. It means having experiences, putting myself out there, and doing things differently.

It means allowing myself to say the thing, look ridiculous, sound ridiculous, and put myself out there to meet new friends, knowing it may not go the way I want it to.

Maybe it will be a bad experience.

Or maybe I’ll meet a new friend who will be in my life forever.

It means putting myself on a bike—not just a regular bike that I can control, but an electric bike—and riding over the cobblestone streets of Florence.

I’m riding with traffic, navigating side streets, swerving around people, and basically playing Frogger with my life.

These are the things I’m doing to experience life anew.

And that’s what we’re doing here.

I’m asking myself daily:

Where can I surrender control?

When I’m met with something that feels uncomfortable, or something that doesn’t look or unfold the way I wanted it to, can I ask:

What is here for me?

I’ve been walking around the center of Florence, asking myself:

What does Florence have for me?

The last time I was here was in 2008. Before that, I studied abroad here in 1998.

Why was I called back here?

What part of me drew me here?

And what does this beautiful country and land have for me now?

These are the kinds of questions I mean when I talk about living a soul-led life.

It’s about going deeper than our material wants and needs and asking:

What does my soul want and need?

What am I craving?

Can I be a yes to it without having an expectation?

Can I be a yes to it without needing it to become something?

Can I be a yes to it simply because I want it?

Not because it has to turn into a business. Not because it has to make sense to other people. And not because it has to become something other people approve of or desire.

But simply because I desire it.

What do you want?

And what would happen if you gave yourself permission not only to want it, but also to have it?

What if you went for it without needing it to become anything more than the sheer experience of desiring it and allowing yourself to receive it?

Letting go of control isn’t about giving up.

It’s about finally making room for what your soul has been trying to lead you toward all along.

Rewrite the Rules,

Melissa Kathryn