Over the summer, I decided to go visit my brother and his family. I hadn’t seen my nephew in 3 years, and he was getting so big. At the time, COVID seemed manageable. During a summer sabbatical that gave me plenty of time on my hands, it was the perfect opportunity.
Or so I thought. We left on a Sunday afternoon. Thunderstorms in Dallas meant we got rerouted to Tennessee and didn’t land at our connecting point until midnight. It was 8 hours on a plane…the worst experience I had traveling yet.
Once we were in Dallas, there was no way to CA any earlier than Tuesday. I was determined to get there sooner. We only had 5 days planned, and I wouldn’t waste them in Texas. I bought a one-way ticket to CA with another airline and a hotel for the night.
Somewhat rested, I got up the next morning to news that the new flight was cancelled too. I was starting to get panicked and just wanted to go home. The trip felt like a bust.
While I was unable to get help through the airline we were traveling on, I was able to get through to the one we booked with (partner fare). They were immediately helpful and rerouted us to CA.
Through Boise.
What in the world?!?!? We had to go hours and miles out of the way. But I accepted it, because at that point, I understood the universe’s plan. My other kid lived in Boise. It turned out I was meant to see ALL of my family this summer.
One more stop
I have one child, who recently turned 14. However, when my son was in pre-school, we welcomed a foreign exchange student into our home. Mike became my son’s older brother, and I became Mike’s American mom. He’s my “other kid.”
As soon as I heard we were being routed through Boise, I decided to give over any sense of control. The trip was clearly out of my hands, and I accepted it was going to happen how it was going to happen.
Sure enough, when we landed in Boise, we missed our connection. By two minutes. I could have been frustrated. Instead, I realized it was the plan all along.
In the end, it took 48 hours to get from NC to CA, with a loooooong stop in Boise. We were able to spend time together as an extended family, which wouldn’t have happened otherwise. The joy we all felt at being able to spend time together could not be measured.
Did I mention the airline added two days to our trip? They also returned a portion of the fare that covered a good chunk of the extra hotel stays.
The universe provides. Sometimes, we have to let go of our own plan to receive the gifts it offers.
Find the lesson and adjust
I don’t do well with having my plans disrupted. So they tend to get disrupted with some regularity. You’d think I’d learn.
Whatever it is that we most need to work on, we are likely to be presented with. Over and over.
There are always choices when what we intend is in conflict with what’s happening. We can fight it, accept it, or embrace it. The choice is ours.
When we choose to fight, we often end up stuck. We repeat the lesson over and over until we get it. We fight the thing we are meant to learn at our peril. Kind of like my trip…when I tried to make my original plan work, circumstances kept pushing me another direction.
Acceptance is another option. Rather than fight what’s happening, we can accept that there’s other factors at play influencing the outcome. Trust that the outcome we want will be achieved, even if it’s not exactly how we intended.
Finally, we can embrace it. Sometimes, the alternative in front of us provides a better outcome or path than what we could have planned for ourselves. Rather than just give over to inevitability, we can celebrate the change. Rejoice in the new path we’ve been given.
We are the only constant
When we find ourselves presented with the same challenge over and over, we must remember that we are the only constant.
We are the challenge. Not circumstances or fate. Us. We create our reality, and our perception of the challenges in it.
It is up to each of us to face that which is in front of us, and decide how we want to respond. We find ourselves challenged by the things we need to help us grow.
If we deny them, they will keep popping up. We will keep putting ourselves in situations where they do.
I am a big believer in the hero(ine)’s journey…accept the challenge, prepare with help from mentors, slay the dragon, and then return to help others. Our lives are not a Disney movie though. In our lives, we our own dragon.
Until we face our challenges, they will keep popping up. Once we learn the lesson – slay the dragon – then it’s on to the next. And so it repeats. New dragons are a sign that we are in virtuous cycle of growth.
