|
Dear ,
This newsletter’s topic is similar to the last one. I realized it only when I had already put down the words and for a moment, I thought about changing it. But then I just went with as it felt like a coherent continuation.
We had just ended our long road trip and were preparing our trip to Cluj-Napoca to stay there until the end of October, when someone crashed into our car. Gratefully nobody was injured, but our car is badly damaged, and we don’t know when we will get it back.
For me this meant that I had to travel to my workshop in Cluj-Napoca by train from our village in Bulgaria, which took me more than 20 hours each way, while my dear husband supported me in taking care of our dog.
The journey was well-prepared with me being sure I would be back on Tuesday in time for a CPD seminar with my trainees. What happened was that nearly all the different trains were late, and I was not sure if I would make it at all.
At first, I panicked – following an old pattern of reaction when my plans don’t work, and I lose control. I even thought about calling my trainees and cancelling the seminar. But then I realized something, and this is what I want to share with you.
When you travel by train
When you travel by train you have to surrender. You cannot speed it up and you cannot slow it down. You do not have any control.
When you look out of the window and see the landscape passing by, you are just an observer. You are not in the past and you are not in the future. You are just there observing what’s going on in this present moment.
This realization calmed me down immediately. I realized that the moment I allowed it, the moment I surrendered to the situation, I was not afraid or frustrated any more. I felt at peace and centered again.
Being in my center I realized that not being in control was no reason for panic or frustration. Suddenly, I knew that whatever would happen, things would turn our right. Yes, I might miss my connection, I might not arrive in time. But there would be a solution and only then I would need to take action.
Instead of focusing on the delays and allowing my mind to take control over my well-being, I allowed the present moment to be my guide. And I enjoyed the rest of the journey, the lesson, the insights that came up. I could actually really feel myself being in the present with everything around me, the landscape, my life in that very moment, my being in this world. Instead of being upset and tense, I relaxed, and I felt a smile on my face.
Traveling by train felt like a symbol for traveling through life. When we become aware of the things that we cannot change, when we allow them to be and surrender, we are in our center and calm enough to take the right steps in the right moments.
Isn’t the believe that we are in control an illusion at all? Aren’t there always unexpected “changes in timetable”, “delays”, “sudden interruptions or stops”?
And this brings me back to Viktor E. Frankl and his teaching that it is not about what happens in life, but about how we react to it and what we make of it.
May you always find your center in midst of unexpected circumstances.
I am wishing you a beautiful month of October in the spirit of love and reconciliation
Ursula
PS: The CPD seminar happened, with just 15 min delay and it was beautiful.
|
