Ronda Giangreco one Sunday during her year of hosting Italian feasts
The night I interviewed Ronda Giangreco, author of “The Gathering Table – Defying Multiple Sclerosis With a Year of Pasta, Wine & Friends,” my life changed.
In my quest to connect with inspiring people to lend stories to my book and to learn lessons from those already through the self-publishing journey, here I was walking up to Ronda’s front door with my notepad and pen, eager and unassuming. We had been connected by a mutual friend the day before, and if I didn’t trust my friend’s integrity to the fullest, I may have had a little “stranger danger” voice playing in my head.
She welcomed me into her home, and it immediately felt like a home. The large subdued brown panels of flooring felt warm to the eye, the soft light brought a calmness to the air, and then I saw the gathering table. This dinner table, the namesake of her book, had hosted 52 Italian feasts for eight guests every Sunday for a year after Ronda was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. This table shared in the stories and inspiration and delight of so many. I wanted to touch the wood, almost to hug it to feel it’s energy float through the cells of my body, but I knew that might tip off some real “stranger danger” cues for Ronda. So I sat in the comfy chair like a normal person and cheers’d to the opportunity to meet with her.
She set out a delightful platter of three flavored goat cheeses that paired delightfully with a perfect pour of wine. Here I am, feeling so comfortable with a stranger in her home, and I have no idea what I will experience in the next three hours and twenty minutes.
About half way into our time together, my heart felt heavy. Not in a sad way, but in an energetic way. I still feel it, actually, writing this the next morning. I don’t know if it’s adrenaline or some other chemical or emotion, but here’s my assessment so far:
1. It is consumingly INTENSE to be present for three hours. COMPLETELY PRESENT. I was completely engaged, caring about another person and what she was sharing without exception or distraction for three hours. I can only picture one other time in my life when I was completely present and engaged without exception, but even that was only for an hour and a half. We don’t really have these opportunities that are weighted this heavily with purpose and intention in our usual lives. Coupled with the rawness and depth of hearing about Ronda’s life and insights and struggles and triumphs just cut right to my core. Any layers of resistance, judgment or analysis burst away like bubbles, like they never existed in my life. I was in an intense inspired moment for 200 consecutive minutes. That’s 12,000 consecutive intensely inspired moments. My body, my heart and my soul had no idea what to do in that experience! So I held this feeling as it grew in my chest while I listened to Ronda’s inspiring journey of fulfilling her most meaningful dreams, not despite of, but because she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
2. I was completely connected and in tune with my true self in the purest, most raw way possible. I actually felt like I was having an out of body experience because it was so pure. It almost felt like my body had nothing to do with who I am. My physical presence was irrelevant to being present in the room. It felt like I was everywhere in that room with Ronda, and she was everywhere with me. I didn’t have to think because I just was being. I didn’t have to process because everything Ronda said went straight to my soul without any pollution blocking its path of connection.
3. This sensation was a form or knowing that my life would never be the same. Fear, joy, freedom, discomfort, knowing, not knowing, and letting go all gathered like an energetic ball of tense emotion around my heart. Writing Happiness Is Overrated – Live the Inspired Life Instead has already been a journey that’s connected me deeper to my true self and allowed me to pursue my dreams without the same fear that’s held me back every year before. Seven weeks away from leaving a stable job to go backpacking in South America for three months with my husband is a daring decision “old” me never would have made. Coming back without financial security clearly lined up is not something even current me wants, but I believe in a purpose or calling that is pulling me to this new path. I can’t see much of this path (I have yet to figure out the bathroom options on long treks, and Googling it isn’t on the top of my list at the moment), but I know that as I further commit to pursuing what my true self is guiding me towards, it feels right. It feels like home. It feels totally terrifying, too, but I feel a momentum bigger than my body, and I’m going with it.
4. It’s possible and it’s real. When we set out on a new goal or path or adventure, we might be fearless in our pursuit, but until we see someone else that’s done it (or until we do it ourselves), we don’t know with such profound certainty that it is possible and it is real. Seeing Ronda live her life and pave her own way as an author and a speaker based on something so personal forced me to accept that the path I’m on is real, that it is possible that my path may have real outcomes that fulfill my wildest dreams. This moment was profound; simple in theory but complicated by what it feels like to fully accept and allow myself to truly believe in myself.
I think my time with Ronda was proof that the path I am on is meant for me to continue. This scary path of unknowns that I’m trekking along feels like home in my heart. It’s like Ronda’s warm floor panels and soft light and calm air created a new space for my dreams to live and grow. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced the intense depth and authenticity I felt during my time with Ronda, and my take away was that this is just the beginning of living the inspired life with purpose and a raw purity of existing.
My deepest gratitude goes out to Ronda for welcoming me into her home, for sharing her incredible story with me, and for her generous support of time to help me along my journey of sharing how living the inspired life is accessible to us all if we choose to seek it.
Read my full interview with Ronda: How Multiple Sclerosis Made Ronda Giangreco’s dreams come true
My favorite excerpts from the interview:
Ronda Giangreco’s first book, The Gathering Table, featuring her amazing story of triumphing through her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis through an inspiring year of cooking for others.
I asked Ronda what would have happened that year if she hadn’t set out to make those 52 dinners. “I think I would have given into it. When you get a disease that can be so debilitating and challenging, you get tremendous sympathy. It’s seductive. Nobody faults you for sitting on a couch and eating a tub of ice cream. Nobody expects anything of you. If I hadn’t expected anything of myself, I think I might have succumb to that seductive sympathy and the low bar that had been set for me.”
It wasn’t cooking that saved her life. “It was being inspired that saved my life. I am lucky to be in remission, and I am grateful to have been inspired to have allowed this disease to be a reason for me to rise instead of crumble.”
The worst experience of her life is responsible for her fulfilling her greatest dreams. “Even if I woke up paralyzed tomorrow, I would say it was all worth it.”
“Don’t wait for life to shake you into pursuing your dreams. Don’t wait for a wake up call because it may come too late. Live the inspired life today because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
