Everything aeronautical went like clockwork from the moment I left the hotel in Lome until Axel picked me up 25 hours later at Reagan National Airport. I got to travel the last hour in style with the upgrade I had coveted all along, just for the JFK-DCA leg. It got me a drink while the people in the back did not because we were given a very low altitude to travel due to inclement weather in the region. The upside of this, according to the captain, was that we didn’t have to wait for hours on the JFK tarmac and that we got a good view at the scenery below; the downside that it was very bumpy and (for those traveling in economy) that the flight attendants were asked to stay put.
I was in time to join our friend Larry for a celebration of his 70th birthday party. I have never traveled that far to a party. I was able to enjoy the festivities till the very end when I pulled on Axel’s sleeve and told him I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
I had tried to nap in our DC hotel room where Axel was already well ensconced. But there were too many impressions, as there always are, from the 25 hour trip rummaging around in my brain; a combinations of movies (Avatar, CSI), reading (Sapiens), and (electronic) puzzle pieces. I just couldn’t silence my brain’s attempts to make sense of all these data bits that were pulsing through my head to allow me to fall asleep; but I did rest.
Rest (and digest) is one of the many things Jon Kabat-Zinn writes about in his delightful little book ‘Wherever you go, there you are.’ The reading is a logical extension of our reading of Brene Brown’s ‘Daring Greatly,’ which has led to many wonderful conversations during the many hours we spent together (first in Holland and then in the car while Tessa was in the hospital). I suppose Axel’s reaching 70 and me 65 has sharpened our focus on what we want to be rather than do.
Reading Kabat Zinn, Brown, Tessa’s illness and my coaching course with its intense exposure to what happens in our brains led me to start a daily meditation practice again. Some years ago I used to meditate 20 minutes before going to work but when it became another thing on my to do list and required me to get up even earlier I dropped the habit as the the ‘have to’s’ canceled out the benefits of my meditation practice.
During this trip, and encouraged by Kabat-Zinn I realized I was ready to practice again, especially with my hyper travel schedule and the stressful last few months. I set myself a goal of 8 minutes. Combined with my ankle and hip exercises I am good for at least 10 per day minutes of living in the present. I have set my sights on increasing this here and now time, starting today.
While we are celebrating Tessa’s 32nd birthday from afar (her annual birthday bash at Lobster Cove has probably just ended on this Sunday morning), we are packing up to leave for Chadd’s Fort in Pennsylvania. Axel has organized a trip to the Brandywine River Museum where, according to the NYT, there is a once in a lifetime exhibit of the works of one (or more?) of the Wyeths. This is how we are making our way slowly back home, and enjoying this mini vacation before my next trip to West Africa in two weeks.
Sylvia's Journal 
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