I’m currently enjoying the beautiful city of Venice and the surrounding islands. It was a bit of a challenge to get here after flight delays and then having our Toronto to Venice flight completely cancelled. There were baggage issues, a night spent in a Toronto hotel and the hassle of trying to rebook a flight that would get us to Venice and our ship in time. With everything going on my travel companion made the decision to not continue and go back home, which leaves me traveling on my own.
Fast forward 5 days and my luggage has still not arrived. It was flown to Paris and then Venice 2 days ago and is now with a courier, but still hasn’t been delivered. ‘This is the day’ has been my moto for the past 3 days and still no luck. I’ve been very patient and calm until yesterday afternoon when I returned from an outing and the luggage had not arrived.
What does this have to do with Kung Fu? Pretty much everything. With the luggage issue I’ve been able to stay calm, and focus on what is important so I can enjoy my trip. It’s amazing how little one can do without. I’m managing issues, figuring out how to get from point A to point B, and adjusting to being on my own while in Italy.
I’ve stepped out of my social bubble and met new people everyday, getting to know wonderful guests. Stepping into the dining room on the first night by myself was difficult and also the beginning of a wonderful week.
The continuing story of my delayed luggage is the talk of the ship, having only minimum clothes to work with. Over the past few days I’ve been able to find 2 new bottoms to mix and match with the 2 shirts I have. The frustration and disappointment did get to me at one point and a guest was very kind to lend me a dress to wear the next day.
Patience is a word I’ve heard repeated many times this week. I don’t think of it as being patient though, for me it’s more about enjoying the trip, the destination and the people. Making the choice to be in the moment has helped immensely. I’m taking sights, sounds and smells in and breathing mindfully. The luggage will eventually sort itself out. Only I have control over myself and how I react and respond to a situation.
I’ve learned I can pack smarter and am very capable of packing much lighter. I even ventured out into Venice on my own without getting lost in search of a few more items of clothing, as it’s looking like my luggage may not catch up with me before I disembark.
In addition to all this, there will be scheduled air, rail and bus transportation strikes for the next 3 days, potentially affecting my train to Florence on the 8th. I have to tell myself it’s all an opportunity to make adjustments, see what I’m capable of and increase my knowledge in the world of travel. And through all of this, take advantage of being in the moment and enjoy life and my experiences.
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