THE WHEEL OF CREATIVITY®

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the skies

Not an airplane was flying…

If you have seen any news at all this month, it will come as no surprise to you that Monday morning, when I got up to go to the airport, there was an email in my inbox informing me that my flight had been cancelled. I have found that breakdowns often disrupt our lives just enough to reveal the angels among us.

Today, after my own horrendous 36-hour trip from France to England, I can’t help thinking of all the others like me, stranded between familiar shores trying to get home for the holidays. This is for you, and for the angels among you.

There I was on Monday. Bags all packed, fridge cleared out, and nowhere to go. There were no flights available to Gatwick Airport until 26 December. I checked the trains, from Nice to London. Nothing available. So from England my husband (Angel #1) helped me create a patchwork itinerary combining train and ferry.

• Nice to Paris via TGV
• Paris to Caen via Intercities train
• Caen to Portsmouth via Brittany Ferries
• Portsmouth to home via Peugeot 306

I had one hour. I recalled taxi driver Claude, took one of my fastest showers ever, inhaled two scrambled eggs, closed two obese suitcases and headed out the door. With that my Christmas adventure begins.

Gare Nice Ville. The ticket machine won’t read my card. As I wait in line, the track changes from one with no stairs to one with stairs. I stand at the bottom of the stairs, when Angel #2, a handsome young man, grabs my enormous suitcase and runs it up the stairs, “TGV?” as he puts the bag on the train.

I am confused, because it is 10:25 and my ticket says 10:35. The conductor confirms that I am on the wrong train. Next stop… Antibes. I drag my bags off the train and head down the platform in search of information. Read more…

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I am writing in haste this morning, as we are preparing to get on a plane for Sri Lanka, the small island country south of India, once called Ceylon. I am going to Sri Lanka at the invitation of my husband, who was there a decade ago and has always wanted me to see it.

Usually, when I make a trip like this, I have done a great deal of research, and have an idea of the culture and history, with someone else’s guidance about what is worth seeing there. This time I have done very little research (have not even looked at the site in the link above). I am actually happy about that.

What I do know is that there are things there I have never seen: baby elephants, tea plantations, spotted leopards, lemur monkeys, Buddhist temples, and ritual dances, to name a few. I look forward to experiencing all these things, and to discovering all the things I do not know there. I like surprises when I travel. In truth, I like surprises in life.

I grew up in a culture where it was very important to know… important to be right… important to have the answers. Somehow it often feels safer to rest within the boundaries of what we know and understand. But this safety is an illusion, and will eventually be shattered when what we don’t know pierces our safety net. It always does. That day usually comes as a shock… and a blessing.

When I travel, I often think of Lawrence Kasdan’s film, “The Accidental Tourist,” in which travel writer Macon Leary always attempts to travel without leaving home, eating at McDonald’s and minimizing his contact with the unfamiliar. It seems ridiculous to us, but this is how many of us live. I did.

As we set off today on our 10-hour flight from Heathrow to Colombo, I have completed the basics. I have had shots for tetanus, typhoid and Hep-A. I have my daily pills for malaria and tropical zone mosquito lotion. We have booked our hotel and transport for a week. We know it is risky to travel north, for security reasons. We have taken precautions.

But today I am delighted to be leaving the world I know for a world I have never experienced, knowing there will be ecstasies and agonies along the way. I will see things, eat things, hear languages, meet people for the first time. There is so much diversity of life out there to discover and be enriched by, but only if we are willing to leave home.

The Wheel of Creativity describes the experience of life as a creative journey. The first step in that journey, from my experience and others’, is to listen to what you long for, to follow what attracts you, and then to let go. Getting on a plane is not required. The journey begins within your mind and heart. Whatever you’re doing today, this day can be an adventure or the same-ol’-same’ol’.  You can travel through your life accidentally or deliberately. Which would you prefer?

More from me in Sri Lanka in a week or so, whenever I can get online…

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