Painting by Ilaria Berenice

By Ilaria Berenice

We all want to live our ideal life, but often miss out because of waiting for something to work out. My ideal life? Having the sound of ocean waves as my alarm clock rather than the unbearable ringing of the telephone. Well, yes, I made this dream come true without waiting to win the lottery. 

Since I was 18, I have happily gypsied between Italy, Spain, Brazil, and so on, following a budget that would have horrified any financial advisor. What mattered to me was freedom. My ideal life since adolescence was to detach myself from the family, escape the system, and get to know the world, not work in a gray office to pay equally gray rent on a gray apartment. 

In Spain, my street music career never took off to the heights of Spotify, but I played with a passion that would have rivaled a rock concert, whether alone or with others (I played with anyone). In Brazil, however, I dedicated myself to the art of crochet, creating commissioned fashion masterpieces – bikinis, hats, and bags – while lying in a hammock in the shade of the palm trees between ocean dives. Who said you need to be rich to enjoy life?

Even though in my current vision of life I really like comfort and living in abundance, the concept of happiness transforms with changes in personal perspectives and balances. My years of living a nomadic life, free as the wind, opened me up to the world and to people. And detachment from my biological family allowed me to look inside myself with a broader perspective, helping me discover who I really was.

Upon returning to my native Italy, I found myself in a sort of identity crisis: I felt Spanish and Brazilian, while Italian seemed like an alien language. My new vision of life was characterized by the search for roots and stability. Civilization required a bit of effort: crossing the street looking at cars instead of traffic lights is a habit I still have, a small sign of civic rebellion. I relearned basic things like using the computer. I also faced family problems again after many years of absence, this time without running away. I also let myself be influenced by the constant worry for the future that is typical to Italians, whereas up to that point I had simply lived day to day.

In other words, I reintegrated into the system. I rented a house in Milan, did the classic office jobs on the computer (which changed with the frequency of a Netflix subscription), welcoming each new job with the enthusiasm of a Monday morning, and painted in my free time.

Yet, Milan was also a phase of inner growth, a period of reflection on what “home” meant to me after years of freedom. I discovered that home is where I find peace with myself, even though I dreamed of running away every time I saw a plane in the sky.

✨AI Generated image by Ilaria Berenice

Now I live in Piedmont, surrounded by nature, where my search for freedom and desire for stability blend harmoniously. I don’t let myself be influenced by other people’s expectations or worries about the future. Nature, with its infinite beauty, inspires my art and connects me with myself. My ideal life has become a balance between adventure and serenity, a continuous journey between inside and outside. I live in the present and work only for myself.

My encounters with the birds in the garden became moments of pure enjoyment and reflection. Who would have thought that birdwatching would become a living room activity? Yet, here I am, admiring a hoopoe from the window with the attitude of someone who knows she is the center of the universe. The birds represent freedom, the soul itself, an expression of my inner divinity without intermediaries.

And what is the soul? An abstract word, an intangible thing, yet it is my daily source of inspiration. It is life itself, the connection with nature, the integration of all parts of me, the great face that brings together the infinite faces of my humanity. It is a diamond with infinite facets. It is the deep sky that forms the backdrop to the stars.

If I once sought freedom by roaming around the world, now I find it in my garden, among the birds of the air and the intuitions of the soul. And who would have thought? My ideal lifestyle is no longer about a physical place, but rather a state of being. I find it in the company of my freedom and a rather presumptuous hoopoe. This feathered companion, with its daily performances, reminds me that you don’t have to travel across the world to find wonders; sometimes, you just need to open the window or walk out the front door. My life, once defined by the stamps in my passport, now finds meaning in the cycles of the seasons, the flight of birds, and the slow changing of the clouds.

So, as I sit in my garden, watching nature unfold in her indifference and majesty, I realize that true freedom is this: living in the present, appreciating the little things, and finding peace where you least expect it. I no longer need to escape; I built my personal utopia right here, in the hills of Piedmont, with a hoopoe as a muse and nature as a stage.

And so, my journey continues, no longer in search of a place, but discovering moments of pure happiness. Because, ultimately, my ideal lifestyle isn’t about where I am, but who I am. I am exactly where I want to be – free, present, and incredibly, unexpectedly happy. My ideal lifestyle? It’s here and now.