Yesterday we were sitting on a train from Innsbruck, Austria (great view of the Alps) to Salzburg, Austria ("The hills are alive..."). It's a two hour train ride, and Alex and I, having gotten a total of 20 hours of sleep in the last 4-5 days, are both looking forward to a little down time to take a quick nap.
Rule #5 when traveling: Sleep when you can. You never know when you might get another chance, or you'll have to wake up before dawn cracks the next morning. When you have a moment to rest and catch a REM cycle, take it. You'll thank me later.
So, we're on the train, and thinking about catching a power nap, if possible. I speculate upon possibility for two reasons. To start, I'm not sure to what I owe such a gift, but I had managed to be the recipient of one of life's top notch headaches. You know the type - it just seems to make everything on the inside feel as though your skull is officially too small for what's inside anymore, and no matter which way you wear your hair or take off your hat or close your eyes, the throbbing only seems to be agitated by your lack of appreciation for it, and plays its rendition of Stomp even louder within your cranium.
So I'm simply trying to sit still and make peace with my headache, appreciating the opportunity to take off my bag, jacket, scarf, and sweatshirt, unlace my shoes a little bit to give my feet some breathing room, and put in my headphones for some delicious tunes.
About 20 minutes into the train ride, a slew of high schoolers boards, and the volume at which a group of teenagers communicates breaks through my "death to headache" cocoon, obviously catching my attention. Pretty soon a pushy gentleman I can only assume is one of the chaperones opens our compartment door (on this train they have those 6-seater compartments, like the ones seen in the Harry Potter movies), and begins yelling at us in German.
Eventually we get him to explain to us, that we are clearly in their reserved seats.
Rule #6: Do not get too comfortable. You are not at home. This is not your space you are occupying. You will eventually have to get off your train, or you'll be in someone's way and need to move, or getting too comfortable could cause you to push the boundaries of the setting you are in. (Our last Couchsurfing host had some rather strange rules when it came to surfing at his house because of (literally) terrifying previous experiences - most of which I was afraid to ask what horrific circumstances prompted such guidelines).
And that's fine, it's happened before, us being in someone's reserved seat. Some of the trains are well marked when people make reservations, other times it is a vague and unmarked process, and you just sit down, hoping that no one comes along claiming you're in their reserved spot. Not to mention, we appreciate a reservation as much as anyone, so it's perfectly understandable that you want the seat you took the time to secure.
We begin to lace up the shoes, gather up our belongings and bit of food we'd gotten out, and we are now attempting to get out of their way. Except, due to the space these compartments take up, the aisles outside of the compartments really only fit one person. At a time. Sans bags.
Currently we're caught in a stampede of teenagers, heading the opposite direction that we need to go to evacuate the premises of their reserved space, and this guy won't stop yelling at us in German that we're in his compartment.
"Yes sir, I understand this, but given the fact that I have this giant bag upon my back, and you and your kids all have massive suitcases and the 60 of you are taking up this train car and the next two, I'm not exactly sure where you want me to go."
Finally he understands, and the Red Sea of Austrian trains parts. We kindly step out of their way, and proceed to find another compartment with just one woman sleeping in it. We ask her if it's available (wouldn't want to get caught up in another reservation situation), to which she nods, and we sit down and relax once again.
But Rule #6 still applies. Not 15 minutes later, we reach another stop. The middle school version of 15 minutes ago boards the train, and sure enough, we're in someone else's way again.
Oh good, because I was actually starting to get worried that this headache I'd been nursing would abandon me before its prime. ;) Wouldn't that be a shame? :P
So we again pack up our stuff and move, and we're again in some German chaperone's way, except this episode stars a female character. Finally we find two seats that aren't obviously reserved down at the far end of the train, and manage to spend the last hour of the train ride in one spot. Although this time, we remained at the ready. ;)
Pascal said that “Our Nature lies in movement; complete calm is death.”. Even when the movement seems inconvenient, I've found it often leads to beautiful places, that, while unexpected, can be some of the greatest adventures. After all, we still managed to sit down, did we not? And with the combination of the headache and the inconvenience, one is once again reminded that nothing will ever always be as you expected, nor is everything perfection in this lifetime.
Tomorrow is not guaranteed, nor is it guaranteed to look the way you expect it too. Faith requires a certain amount of flexibility, and optimism. We are called to love the world and its people around us, and every new situation, inconvenience, transition, etc, is another opportunity to love Jesus-style in the direction of one more person. Not to mention, if we hold onto the things of this world with a looser grip, we find our pride that keeps us clinging to demanding our own way lessens, and we can find ourselves to be much more peaceful creatures overall. For it is in our pride that we demand to be seen, noticed, validated, vindicated, etc, and to let go of that sets us free into tremendous places of joy. There is nothing someone can take from you if your identity and peace is not rooted in any of the things around you. Mother Theresa spoke of disregarding when life hands you inconveniences or threatens what you've built or your image, for "It was only between you and Him {the Lord} anyway."
Not to mention, travel and movement through this life is meant to teach us to hold onto things loosely, using them as needed but not allowing them to become things that obtain control over us. Part of the innate purpose of traveling is to keep one at the ready. You lose a grip on many of the things you're so accustomed to having and going unquestioned, and you realize that not much in life is guaranteed, despite the illusion of control and predictability we often fall into believing. Things could change at any second, and if you believe as I do in a place where (agape) Love heals all wounds, you know the things of this world are not meant to make us feel at home, quite the opposite, actually.
'I am a visitor here, I am not permanent...' -The Postal Service
Oh look, my headache is gone. :)
“I am so convinced of the advantages of looking at mankind instead of reading about them, and of the bitter effects of staying at home with all the narrow prejudices of an Islander, that I think there should be a law amongst us to set our young men abroad for a term among the few allies our wars have left us.” – Lord Byron
"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
-Mother Teresa
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