Un attimo di pace

I was blasting my great Eros Ramazzotti CD called "9" last night, and the first song is my favorite. It's called "Un attimo di pace" ("A Moment of Peace"). It came at a great time because earlier in the day I had watched Roger Federer win his 7th (YES 7th!) Grand Slam event. I woke up at 330 AM on the dot to watch the pre-match analysis with Chris Fowler and Brad Gilbert. Then I stayed up until 720 AM and watched til the end of Federer's incredible speech (I was a BIT hungover too, after 8 margaritas at Los, which made it pretty hard to get up, but I did it anyways b/c I could NOT lose this chance to see one of, if not THE, greatest men's player of all time win yet another Slam). The whole thing was amazing, and I wanted to write about it.

The reason I say that the song reminds me of Federer is that we rarely see him emotional, and when he accepted his trophy from Aussie Rod Laver (standing behind him in the picture), he was crying so hard that he could barely speak. This trophy meant so much to him, and I think no one will ever know just how much. It was just so powerful to see an athlete earn this thing that means so much to him, and to have him not brag about it. He congratulated Baghdatis for a good match, thanked his team, the sponsors of the Open, and Rod Laver for being there. Like Dick Enberg said after the match-something along the lines of Federer being aware of the history of tennis in the open era, knowing he is a part of it, and RESPECTING it. (Photo courtesy of http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/index ).

I have to say that I was a big mess watching Federer. I was in tears too. It was unbelievable, and something I will never forget. We are watching perhaps the best tennis player ever. Federer could smash Sampras' record of 14 Slams 2 years from now. F already has 7 Slams, and only needs 7 more to tie Sampras. He could do that by the end of 2007, really. I just feel INCREDIBLY privileged to watch this man play. I will watch every event that he is in, and hopefully go to something this year (like the US Open or NASDAQ-100).

Back to the song. For him, I feel that it was surely un attimo di pace. The past, present, and future were hitting him all at once, and he was just so overwhelmed that he couldn't contain himself. I know he has won in the past, but here in Australia, Rod Laver was there, he was aware of his 1/2 way point to Sampras, and he knows what he can accomplish in the future. I just can't imagine what emotions he has to be going through, and it was refreshing to see someone that really cared about tradition and his part in it, and not be EGOTISTICAL about it. (Gee, am I a Federer fan?) I think at that very moment when he was up on that stage, his moment of peace and realization got to him and everything just poured out. I think this Aussie Open was a transition point for him-from multiple Grand Slam winner to a true great of the game, ranked with the likes of Lendel, Becker, etc. I loved it. I should have taped it and kept rewinding.

Then it makes me hope that everyone I know, family and friends, experiences something like this in their lives; that their attimo di pace will be (or has been) something that memorable and life-altering. I can think of a few instances in my case.... especially the first time I laid eyes on Espana from the plane. I knew that from that moment on I would be visiting this country as often as I could, and that everything I had done in the past (saved $, studied espanol) was culminating in this one moment. I guess it's a sense of personal satisfaction, growth, and excitement that comes with one's attimo di pace. You feel at peace with what you have done in the past, what you are doing about it in the present, and your dreams for the future based on your past.

I hope everyone has that attimo in their lifetime... that one attimo that stands out above the rest. Comments welcome if you have already had it, or if you have dreamt about it. I would love to hear about them................