“Color is like music, it uses [a] shorter way to come to our senses, to awake[n] our emotions.” I quite can’t read the name of the quote’s author in this photo, but I loved the quote and the color of this house in Burano. I’m sure every tourist that walks by it takes a photo of this. It captures your eye.

But, fun picture aside, I agree with the quote. I have been toying with this idea that there is a “soul language” that each of us has, a language that is a shortcuts our brain circuitry to our heart and soul. It gets past all of our outer layers of shoulds and shouldn’ts, our learned responses and expectations from our family, our friends, our culture, whatever. To a place where your response is truly you.

My soul language is visual imagery. Whether it be color, composition, light… It’s one of the reasons I love photography and painting and any other type of visual art. It speaks to me.

A while ago, I was reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and feeling guilty. She loves the Italian language just for it’s sound. Came to Italy to live and learn and experience the language (ok, and the food). There are lots of people who do this, so my brain was asking me, “Why aren’t you so excited about learning Italian? Here you are in Italy for two years, every opportunity to immerse yourself, but you aren’t taking advantage of it!” Complete guilt mode. Then I realized – that’s not my soul language. Elizabeth Gilbert is a writer, words and language are probably her soul language, not mine.

I can immerse myself in the art and visual beauty of Italy and get just as much out of the experience, because it’s my soul language. What’s yours?