As with all great mass movements since the epoch of science, things never really go according to a schedule. Sure, the animals and the winds are tuned to the magnetic and unseen draw of the forces that basically keep our planet in an upright position but Homo Sapiens never really gained an entry into that exclusive membership. So what do we do?
Improvise.
You can plan and get hung up by a thousand and one details and still arrive at the point of "duh!" because there will be (that I guarantee you) that one thing which somehow just escaped your radar - even if it was a badly timed and newly grown toe nail that went a milimetre too deep. I, on the other hand, prefer to keep my thousand and one to the Arabian Nights. Mind you, most of us, me included, succumbed easily to the wave of obsession with details and it took me a great deal to wean myself off that dependency. In turn, I focused on the urgent when everything (like anything) seemed important and I separated the real issues from the projected "what if"s.
Results?
You can more time (yes, believe it!) to pause when your little cousin-in-law gave you a hand-made card with strict instructions to only open it with a smile when you're on the plane, to bask in the heart-warming smiles and innocent honesty when they marveled at the flowered hair clip you had on your hair (to them, it's a big fashion statement, even if it meant as a last minute resort to you because all your other clips had grown legs and ran off), to be thankful that you didn't miss a moment of goodbye as you looked back at the taped video messages and the heartfelt phone calls from those far, and to realise albeit all the goods, bads, and warts, your family turned up to make sure that when you take that crucial step into the unknown beyond, you will always have a gathered scene of love, unity and heck, people missing and thinking about you when you look back from the boarding gate. And you for once, am glad for Skype because it's just such a cool way to stay connected live!
So, for one who's never good at blatant emotional goodbyes, I pretended to not say farewell. It's just a longer trip out and we're staking a claim of our own out in this little place. Journeys are like forked junctions, a toss of coin, a flip of a page. To not drag myself into a melancholy, here's a sneak into the packing process - fun, intense, messy, indecisive, and finally, that blessed sound of the zipper announcing all that can be done, is done.
Improvise.
You can plan and get hung up by a thousand and one details and still arrive at the point of "duh!" because there will be (that I guarantee you) that one thing which somehow just escaped your radar - even if it was a badly timed and newly grown toe nail that went a milimetre too deep. I, on the other hand, prefer to keep my thousand and one to the Arabian Nights. Mind you, most of us, me included, succumbed easily to the wave of obsession with details and it took me a great deal to wean myself off that dependency. In turn, I focused on the urgent when everything (like anything) seemed important and I separated the real issues from the projected "what if"s.
Results?
You can more time (yes, believe it!) to pause when your little cousin-in-law gave you a hand-made card with strict instructions to only open it with a smile when you're on the plane, to bask in the heart-warming smiles and innocent honesty when they marveled at the flowered hair clip you had on your hair (to them, it's a big fashion statement, even if it meant as a last minute resort to you because all your other clips had grown legs and ran off), to be thankful that you didn't miss a moment of goodbye as you looked back at the taped video messages and the heartfelt phone calls from those far, and to realise albeit all the goods, bads, and warts, your family turned up to make sure that when you take that crucial step into the unknown beyond, you will always have a gathered scene of love, unity and heck, people missing and thinking about you when you look back from the boarding gate. And you for once, am glad for Skype because it's just such a cool way to stay connected live!
So, for one who's never good at blatant emotional goodbyes, I pretended to not say farewell. It's just a longer trip out and we're staking a claim of our own out in this little place. Journeys are like forked junctions, a toss of coin, a flip of a page. To not drag myself into a melancholy, here's a sneak into the packing process - fun, intense, messy, indecisive, and finally, that blessed sound of the zipper announcing all that can be done, is done.
At this point, I was totally relieved that at least one item is in the bag!
