What Italy Taught Me About Trusting the Unplanned

We had been planning this trip for months. A direct flight to Italy, an itinerary filled with highlights from Puglia, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast.

Even our kittens were set. We found a kind, competent live-in sitter. Everything felt beautifully aligned. What could go wrong?

At first, everything went as expected. The usual travel bumps, small delays, moments of adjusting to a new rhythm. All part of the adventure.

Until day four.

A message came from our cat sitter. One of our kittens was in distress. She took him to the vet, who quickly referred him to the ER. They didn’t know if he had ingested a toxin or was having a neurological event.

My heart dropped. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Our kittens are only seven months old, healthy, playful, vaccinated, full of life. Suddenly one of them was fighting for his.

He was admitted to the ICU. Limp, blind, unable to stand or eat. Even the specialists weren’t sure what was happening or if he would survive.

My dream vacation became a stress-cation. Jet lag, worry, and sleepless nights waiting for updates.

By day six, a small miracle. He turned a corner. The vets said he could go home to be monitored.

The relief was enormous. I’m happy to say that today, he’s thriving. In fact, he’s playing fetch with me as I write this.

As for me, the exhaustion settled in. The sore throat and cough weren’t just stress. It turned out I had COVID.

But that’s not really the story.

The story is about what happened within all that uncertainty. How life gently pulled me out of my linear plans and back into the circle.

The Circle That Holds

Between vet calls and naps, I found myself sketching mandalas. I began noticing circles everywhere: in church domes, tiled floors, and the petals of ancient mosaics.

Circles within circles.
No beginning. No end.
Just balance, symmetry, and quiet containment.

Each one seemed to whisper, You are held.

The circle reminds me of the womb, that original place of safety and creation. It’s also the place we spend much of our lives trying to understand or return to.

When things fall apart, the circle invites us back. It doesn’t demand control or answers. It simply holds what hurts until it’s ready to heal.

In the MARI (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) system, rosettes and flowers, like those I kept seeing, appear in Stages 8 and 9.

These are the stages of personal ripening and authentic connection.

Stage 8 speaks to autonomy, will, and creativity.
Stage 9 expands that energy outward into connection, contribution, and love.

Italy showed me both: the joy of blossoming and the necessity of softening.
Of letting go of what I thought I was there to do and listening instead for what the moment asked of me.

When Plans Change

Do your plans always unfold the way you hope?
Mine didn’t.

And it’s okay to feel disappointed when life takes a turn.
When you only have eight days to explore a dream destination, there isn’t much space for wallowing. I worried I might have unknowingly passed the illness to others, and that too became part of the lesson. Not blame, but awareness.

A pause.
A breath.
An invitation to sit with the unknown.

Sometimes we’re called to trust life. Not to like or understand what’s happening, but to allow it to move us gently back toward center.

Returning to Wholeness

Everywhere I looked, Italy offered reminders of the circle’s wisdom. Rose windows in cathedrals, halos in sacred paintings, the Eucharist, even the crown of thorns.
Each one spoke of wholeness.

Wholeness isn’t perfection.
It’s presence.

Even in disruption, life keeps inviting us back to that original shape. The circle that heals, holds, and reconnects.

Join Me in The Mandala Corner

If you’ve ever had your plans fall apart only to find wisdom waiting underneath, you might find comfort in my Mandala Corner.

This November, I’m opening a new circle. A psycho-spiritual space where we use mandalas to reflect on life’s unfolding patterns.
Each month, we’ll gather around a theme, create from where we are, and listen for what’s ready to emerge.

No art experience needed. Only curiosity and openness.
Because healing begins wherever you are.

Registration is now open:

Creative Healing Integration – The Mandala Corner, November 2025

With care,

About the author

Mari Grande is a licensed Creative Arts Therapist, coach, and founder of Creative Healing Integration, Inc.
Through The Mandala Corner and her coaching programs, she helps people reconnect with creativity, clarity, and healing in everyday life.