Wellness Journalism: Can I Kick It?

Italy gives an old tradition the boot, and so can you.

Giorgia Boscolo is 24 years old a mother of two. She is also the first female gondolier to tackle the canals of Venice—breaking with 900 years of conviction that gondola steering is a man’s job.

Whether a conviction is 900 or 9 years old, what we believe tends to steer us through the course of our lives. Sometimes, our belief systems need to be updated.

Sometimes, if you think you can’t do something, that’s the best reason to do it. Maybe you’d like to participate in a marathon but you think it’s only for “runners.” Maybe you’d like to eat less meat, but you are worried that you will “starve.” Maybe you’d like to be a dancer (or a doctor, or a detective), but you are worried that you will “fail.” What do you dream of? What do you picture yourself doing? What is it that you really want?

The bottom line is that no matter how lofty your goals may be, no matter how impossible they may seem, simply heading in their general direction will provide you with a fulfilling life. Since your greatest goals can only be reached one step at a time, your heart is pre-wired to appreciate the journey.

This is excellent news to those of us who may not know exactly how we are going to make our dreams come true, what with so many paths crisscrossing at our feet and so many flashing lights and signs (This way! Wrong way! Turn here!). But we have to believe we can.

Giorgia Boscolo is living proof that old molds are giving way to new possibilities, and even the most hardened establishments can bend in new directions. With the swipe of an oar, Giorgia reminds us that life is a flow(er)… and we each decide where to go(grow).