This wise thought was expressed by Confucius more than two thousand years ago, and I have adopted it as my take on life. My name is Giorgio and I consider myself lucky, because I have not one gratifying job, but two. My normal job is as sales manager of a company which imports spices to Italy. It's never boring, because I visit the company's various offices in various parts of the country, I meet new people and every day presents new and exciting challenges. And then, in my spare time, I am a desert photographer.
While I was on holiday in North Africa with a few friends, I was awestruck by the shimmering, iridescent beauty of the sand dunes, by their soft perfection, by the dangers that lurk every day under the baking desert sun and the mysteries that lie at night between the sand and the star-filled sky.
It was like a bolt of lightning. We were getting ready to spend the night: we had already lit a fire to keep any wild animals at bay, and I was about to turn in when I spied the last sliver of the scarlet-red sun as it slipped inexorably beneath the horizon.
Since then, all my holidays and week-ends – every minute of my spare time – are dedicated to my greatest passion. What began as a fascinating hobby has become almost a second job.
And this evening I'm meeting with Alessandro, Sveva and Andrea – the friends who shared my holiday adventure – to discuss the details of a photographic exhibition that we are organizing.
The evenings are starting to get warmer, so I've decided to prepare a typical Moroccan dinner on my terrace. I hope to create the right atmosphere so we can re-live the emotions of our trip to Africa.
At the moment, my kitchen table is covered with my travel notebooks and the photos I took during our last holiday in the Moroccan desert.
The exhibition will be dedicated to this incredible region; I hope to convey to visitors the magic of the desert and the thrill of spending five days of adventure driving a four-wheel drive among the dunes, with dawn wake-up calls, blinding sandstorms and gorgeous sunsets.
I love to organize my day in this bright, sunny room, relax and even do some work sometimes.
This is where I can sit and sip my coffee, eat some fruit for breakfast, keep an eye on the clock and see the whole of my living-room which, as you might imagine, is a sort of logbook containing details of all my trips.
There are mementos all over the room: shells, books, glass jars full of various types of sand and of course dozens of photographs.
I could spend hours gazing at them and letting my imagination run free, but right now I need to get a move on and get to the office. There is an important meeting with my bosses at precisely 9 o'clock to discuss the upcoming trade fair.
So I do a mental run-through of the salient points of my presentation to the bosses, although I must admit that my mind is already on tonight's Moroccan dinner with Sveva, Andrea and Alessandro.
Then I have to lay the table and spread cushions and covers on the terrace: I want my friends to feel comfortable and relaxed so they will really enjoy the evening. I'll use the recipe that an elderly Moroccan lady gave me when I was there: she told me that the secret lies in those small details that are so important when preparing the food. The vegetables must be cut with care and love, and the cous-cous needs to be left to soften slowly in water - that's the only way to make sure that the result is mouth-wateringly delicious.
So, at the end of the day, when I finally get home with all my shopping and bags brimming with vegetables, it will be a delight to fill the kitchen with the colours and fragrances of a far-off country. When they cross the threshold, my friends will be transported back to our North-African holiday, and almost see the desert in the distance...
