Posts Tagged ‘surrender’

Calais Blog 2 – Surrender

Friday, August 1st, 2008

So day 2 on our trip, and we have another day with no agenda. Continental breakfast on the terrace, a route march up the hill to some World War 1 memorial, then down the coast to ‘real’ French town for more sitting around followed by a delicious lunch of moules & frites. By this stage my system had slowed down to a bear tick-over. We tried to get interested in some serious shopping in one of Calais duty-free style malls, but we couldn’t do it. Somehow, surrounded by folks pushing two or more trolleys the size of small vans, stuffed full of booze, we didn’t feel like it.

We arrived at the tunnel, hoping to hop on an earlier train, only to discover that there had been an ‘incident’ in the tunnel and our train was cancelled and in fact we ended waiting almost 2 hours in 34’c but somehow it didn’t matter. The strange thing was that by this stage I had no need to control anything any more ( a rare phenomenon) it is an interesting place to visit. So many of the messages we pick up these days are about focus, plan act! We need to occasionally balance things up with a little ‘letting go’. The thing is, when we let go, we allow others to take up the reins and express themselves. Maybe today is a good day to say “You decided… I don’t mind”

“If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.” Anne Morrow

 


 

Calais Blog No 1… Saying ‘Yes!’

Friday, August 1st, 2008

We had a rather nice surprise trip to France yesterday. My walking buddy & his wife suggested relocating our weekly walk to the other side of the channel and my kids (Bless them!) arranged themselves to make it possible. Everyone made it very easy to say “Yes”. The only thing that we had to do was to get in the car. However, I notice that I find it easier to say “No” (and I suspect I am not alone in this) just because the suggestion is something different. A little voice says “I don’t do that kind of thing”, and low & behold… we don’t!

It is important and valuable to say “Yes” sometimes when Life offers us these opportunities as it gets us out of our ruts and deals the occasional wild card into our hands, and who knows what fruits we might reap from these. As I mentioned the other day, Change often grows from tiny seeds, so to paraphrase John Lennon, why don’t we all “Give Change a chance!”

Anyway, my reward for accepting this invitation was 2 days of sand and sea in a tiny seaside village near Calais, some great food and lovely company, a total break, and a real mini-holiday. If today you get the chance, try saying “Yes” to something different.

“The less routine the more life.” Amos Bronson Alcott

“All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience.” Henry Miller

 

 


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