If things don’t go as planned…

 

Almost two hundred people I know had their flights cancelled or postponed, due to the war. I saw in their faces that mixture of powerlessness and silent anxiety.

I was in India recently, and those scenes stayed with me. They left me with a question that feels more relevant than ever: How do you plan your life in a world that refuses to be predictable?

Because let’s be honest… we love plans (at least, I love them). They give us a sense of control, direction, even identity. But life, every now and then, reminds us - gently or abruptly - that control is often an illusion.

My reflection is about what to do when things become unclear.

Our first instinct is usually to do more things: think more, calculate more, try to fix things faster. We check our resources - time, money, skills – and we try to increase them, save them.

Of course, all of this is important, but what I saw there was that it is simply not enough. There were people who were glued to an app, trying to find a way out, or those who could buy a new ticket just like that; still, there was no response, no ticket…

Situation sometimes are bigger than our tools and resources, our capacity. It results into an inner pressure, so we try and force solutions, pushing our way through.

There is however, one thing that was useful. In many faces, I saw plenty of smiles and calm, a fresh sensation that said things will be OK. That is the one possibility I saw that was the most successful: resilience.

It is an inner strength and quietly steps in, not as a dramatic force, but as a deeper power. It helps us adapt and, instead of denying the horrible reality, we learn from it and move on.

So, how do we plan when certainty is not available? I don’t think the answer is to stop planning… but let’s plan differently:

• Avoid rigid expectations. Plans are useful, but expectations can turn into traps. Hold things with openness.
• Plan for the best, prepare for the worst. Not from fear, but from maturity. It creates inner stability.
• Think beyond “Plan B”. Sometimes even alternatives fail. Go further - visualize yourself after the situation. How do you want to feel when this is over?
• Stay calm, wherever you are. Calmness is not a luxury; it is a tool to be used in these cases.
• Look for help… in the right place. Not all advice is helpful and not all voices bring clarity. Choose wisely.
• Accept what you cannot control. Not as resignation, but from resilience. Save energy and use that strength in dealing with this reality.
• Stay focused. When the outside is shaking, the inside must be steady. That’s where a real direction comes from, a possible solution.

Finding out more about your inner world

There is a world out there and people are CRAZY travelling around, as never ever before. And what about the inner world, that wonderful space within? How often do we travel within there?

There are landscapes, history places, wonderful people and culture in this borderless place called world. And there are beautiful things showing in our mind, wonderful memories and everyone we have ever met or knew, are there, at the distance of a thought.

There are opportunities to learning a new language, to eat a new type of food or trying clothes you would never do at home! Within yourself you can always learn something new, try something new or dare to think differently.

And of course, you can change the course of the world or your life by moving to other places; and yet, in this inner world of yours, there are so much to learn and to experience that you can transform yourself and, eventually, the whole world.

Hope you try to know your beautiful inner world.

A New Year, a new “me”

2020 will attract a lot of attention; just wait to see how many people will talk about the year of perfect vision!

I have already spent many and many years and I don't know how many new years seemed to be the definitive ones, when I would finally achieve that dream, that change or that transformation. So I should lose hope on 2020, right?

No, not really. I think that every year has brought me closer to my dream - and in some of these years, I saw a few dreams come true. I know that I changed a lot as a person and even, in some areas of my life I have transformed.

The magic of the New Year does exist. It renews not only vague hopes or elusive dreams, but it gives me the possibility to reset my life, even if it is partial. And in this 2020, I want to use this beautiful number of interesting, though simple, symmetry, to stimulate me to reflect.

For me, and I hope for you too, this year I will have a great opportunity to renew myself and really be different. I will have 20 opportunities to be a new me.

In the physical, it will be an opportunity to opt for a healthier diet and, when I do physical exercises, change the way I perceive myself. I can change the way I dress or look for a house somewhere else and go to live there. I will travel a lot: I will travel every weekend or I will intend to travel to places that I had never thought of going before. Perhaps, it is time to study and work in another career.

What opportunities await you in the physical plan in this New Year?

There is another level that opens up many probabilities, related to your mind and emotions. Because this year I have the enormous possibility of cultivating another way of thinking and sustaining a positive attitude, despite the situations. Instead of worrying, I will deal with creative thoughts and fill my being with constructive emotions. It is time to use the power of my mind to its fullest extent, so I can turn my ideas that are so valuable into something physical.

What is your window of improvement in your mental and emotional capacity in this New Year?

It is in the spiritual that I have more hope of success, because it will be a year to meditate more, much more. I will work in my inner world, making it more stable and I will establish myself as a leader of the self. It will be the year not to react to situations, but to reflect and then do something. Everything is summed up to BE before HAVING or DOING. Finally, seek to experience the natural goodness of others and empower myself, at every step.

How much will you dedicate this year to the development of your spirituality?

The way to travel and learn

There are very few exciting experiences like travelling. Since immemorial times, people have been reporting their trips around the world and Marco Polo was just one of them.

There are now TV channels dedicated to it and there are people who earned their income doing exactly that: travelling!

But travel in itself is really not pleasant. Perhaps for the 1% who are so rich and who can travel only first class, or private jets. Otherwise travelling is not good, and it can get worse and worse.

As I write this I am following up the strike in a very important airline - in fact, I just traveled using their services less than two months ago - and how thousands of flights couldn't take off. And let's not talk about security issues, weather issues and the Murphy Law for travelers: "When you want to move around and be social, your companions in travelling will be as closer to zombies as you can get...".

So, I always thought: what is behind travelling, really?

From my perspective, I think the biggest benefit I have received all this time through the art of travelling was to learn more and faster. It is not only what you see, listen to or even what they tell you, but just the fact you are out of your own environment makes you totally open to add something different to your perception.

It also makes you to appreciate certain aspects of yourself you wouldn't even notice if you are not in this different and strange place. You learn how much tolerance you have or how sensitive you are towards other people's needs better in a trip than going to your work, or talking to your kids.

It also opens your minds for the unlimited possibilities of human beings. I have seen buildings, food, juices, clothes, color skin, I have tasted things I would never could without travelling, and I have heard sounds and music that were unique. And that showed me human greatness in its maximum form.

It is like the place we live is just a small box. Out there, we have infinite possibilities and perhaps the answer to our questions. Questions those in our box could not answer.