Traveling is a great opportunity for letting go of agendas! I am into my sixth week in Austria. I am, and I am not a detail person. Don’t try to figure that out. Those who know me well, you understand, I am sure!
My trip began with a visit to my parents in Maryland, after which I was to leave for Austria from Washington, DC. My son, Henry, and his father took me to the airport in Spokane. I had spent the previous week packing and getting ready for being away for up to a year, everything was pretty much either sold or packed in a storage unit. Knowing that going light is best, I packed my road bike! (Detail) On the way to the airport, Kyle asked me what this trip was about for me. Freedom. Letting go. Adventure. Service. Interesting that I was taking a bike. It was not symbolic of what I was trying to accomplish. So I find myself at the Hilton Garden parking lot, re-packing everything at the last minute so I could leave the bike and all the crap in the bike box behind! Agenda #1.
I proceed to have a nice visit with my parents, relieved I don’t have the bike, because my flight was delayed for hours, the bike box would never have fit into the rental car, and I was exhausted. Good thing I ditched it! Thanks Kyle!
Agenda #2. I arrive with plenty of time to the Dulles International Airport in DC, feeling lighter, just a little nervous about my journey. I need to go talk to an agent, so I get to the desk, and the man behind the counter looks over my tickets and my documents and asks me if I have a visa. What!?! Okay, what is happening? So much time and research went into getting to this point. It seems I booked my ticket as far out as possible, and only in and out of Zurich, even though I am planning on traveling from here…
He proceeds to tell me that they will send me right back from Zurich if I go because I am only allowed to be in Europe for 90 days at a time, unless I have a visa for staying longer. Detail lost…I thought I had 6 months at a time. Okay. I am not thinking too clearly, but I am breathing. Trying not to feel too stupid as this person is telling me that I can’t leave the country until I am prepared! I was prepared. Thank God I don’t have that huge, heavy bike box.
So he changes my ticket to leave the next morning. A little defeated and asking myself, “What the hell am I doing?” I lug my bags outside and onto the shuttle to the car rental place. Once in the car, I am not sure where I am going. Somewhere with internet service, and where I can make some calls. I spend most of the day at Starbucks. I have never really felt grateful for Starbucks, as I prefer to support Sandpoint’s smaller local coffee shops. They are so much better. But in suburbia Virginia, I was feeling very relieved to have all I needed. I ordered a chamomile tea and got to work.
And it all worked out. I had a place to stay with my sister’s brother-in-law, near the airport. I made some changes, and reorganized my trip. Just get over there, and it will all work out. I’d come this far easily. Just keep moving forward. Stay centered and grounded
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Agenda #3. I make it to Austria! I think I am going to have time to adjust to my new surroundings in Austria, get settled in and organize my work from here right away. Three days after my arrival, my boyfriend finds out he is coming home from Thailand, “tomorrow.” This is great news! Now I am on vacation with him, and then Henry comes to visit. I think just about every waking moment was filled with outdoors, adventure and fun.
Letting go of agendas is not a good or a bad thing. It is necessary. Agendas limit us. If I am working with a client, whether doing Cranial Therapy, Core Belief Restructuring, or guidance, I cannot consider having an agenda. It is the first rule in doing the work I do. Yet, I had all kinds of expectations and stories about how things were going to be. And nothing has turned out the way I thought it would, so far.
I guess it is a learning curve of traveling. You never know, so don’t plan. Be okay with the unknown. Allow it to flow, and unfold. Details. I like to have a plan. I like the security of the known. But do we really know anything. Plans change. That’s life. That’s traveling. For now, Henry’s gone. Christoph is off in Turkey, back at work. And I am taking advantage of the not-so-great weather to work a little. We’ll just see what happens…
