Due Tramonti (Two Sunsets)

As I watched the sunset from my office window today, it made me think of the song “Due Tramonti” or “Two Sunsets” by Ludovico Einaudi. It’s my favorite piece by him and I used to listen to it before every tennis match when I was playing with my club in San Jose. I’ve always been one to become terribly nervous before a game, and in high school, my nerves would force me to “kneel before the porcelain gods” before nearly every basketball game. As an adult, I’ve learned to find ways to help calm my mind and to control the adrenaline that starts to pump through my body as excitement builds. My focus has changed and my concern and perception of the outcome has changed too.

The song is simple in its make up, introspective, and a duet with a piano and a viola (I think it’s a viola). A pair of instruments working together for one purpose. Life is as complicated or simple as we choose to make it. Recently, I’ve been reminded on the importance of how fragile and short our time on earth is and we don’t know when it will end. I used to listen to this song on repeat to get my mind right before a match, but today, I listened to it to get my heart right too. Sexy starts first in the head, then in the heart.

This Stay Sexy Thursday I leave you with two quotes.

“People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” Z. Ziglar

“Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey. I don’t go cycling with my wife because I’m excited about finishing. I go because the experience of being with her is sweet and enjoyable.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf