Journey to Acceptance

Everything teaches.  This was the presence message on a coworker’s IM.  My recent motorbike trip to Flat Rock, NC was a large example of that concept.

Internal journeys mirror external journeys and if we pay attention we can experience personal growth.  I knew this would be a significant journey and had resolved to be open to the learnings.  This was more challenging than I expected it to be.  Right off the bat, even before I left, I had mechanical issues that I had more-or-less created.  I’ve been taught that Acceptance of a challenge is the best way to move through that challenge.  Easy to say, much harder to do.  I went thru the gamut of emotions, from “Lori, you stupid, you broke your bike” to “Ok I’m calm and walking thru this” to “it’s the auto parts store’s fault”.  I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get everything running to go, and the thought of having to ditch the bike trip in favor of a car trip – when I had told the world I was going motor-bike camping – was nothing I wanted to face.

Then there came a moment, on the third trip back to the parts store, when I said to myself, “OK, if I have to take the car, I have to take the car, and it’ll be all right.  There are even advantages.  I can load everything I might want to load.  I can take drums and my Uke and a blow-up air mattress.”  There was a shift in my attitude and I became at peace with the situation.  I decided on a go/no-go time frame, and continued on in my efforts to get things sorted.  By that time I was tired of dealing with the issue and it would have been easy to stop and load the cage (car) but I had invested so much time and energy that I tried one last thing.  And it worked!

It’s no coincidence that I was able to work thru the issues only after I had accepted the situation.  Acceptance was a step in that particular sub-journey that led to the end and opened the door for the next leg.  This was one of the largest challenges on my trip and it was satisfying to know that I had been able to work thru it.  It gave me confidence that I could handle other issues that might arise.  And I Accepted the lesson.