This is my favorite Buddhist saying and for these times we are living in, apropos.
We had a plan, the plan is now gone, we have accepted that the moment is the one thing we can enjoy and that’s it. There is no future per se, it’s simply one day and then the next. We all know this philosophically, but to now be actually living it is another story.
Moving to Europe is something I have wanted since I can remember and finally it happened. The plan was to come to Holland and live in our house for the winter and do the supposedly minor renovations and repairs we needed and then move on to somewhere warm and sunny. Greece and Spain were the two top contenders and come December 2019 we packed our bags and left. We had planned to take a few recon trips to both countries and check them out over a period of a few months. Then the pandemic hit and our plans were shot.
As they say “life is what happens while you are busy making other plans”. I have slowly come to grips with my new reality, living in a country where I don’t know the language, amongst farms and tiny villages, no independence except for an occasional hike in the gorgeous woods nearby and no end in sight. Hmmm. How does one grapple with this coming from the fast paced, consumer driven, money making country of America?
I knew I wanted to stop working for a while and I also knew I could handle anything, the universe has cooperated. I am slowly rediscovering myself or maybe I should say, finding a new me. I have been ever so grateful to let relaxation become the dominating feeling in my daily life. It takes a long while to unwind and let go. I don’t know what’s next and thankfully none of us do. The great equalizer is this simple fact; we are all in this together.
Enjoy these idyllic scenes, this is my new reality. To be continued.
