19 Comments

Wow! So frustrating but ultimately fodder for stories and practicing peace in the eye of the storm. ❤️

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Yes! and funny you wrote this Bridget - as it was all transpiring, I actually thought: this is great material for writing😁

One friend also said, "There are experiences that may be amusing as they're unfolding, and then there are experiences that are amusing in retrospect." This was more of the latter😆

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Wow! What a trip. I can imagine your frustrations:) Flights to anywhere in Australia are long and often ‘complicated’…. It is practise for all sorts of things…. I always remind myself that to travel is a great privilege:)

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Hi Bernadette, thanks for reading and commenting, and yes - I'd written a couple of drafts of this post, and one of the first drafts began with the fact that I write from the perspective of a middle-aged white woman with privilege. Travel is a great privilege for which I'm immensely grateful, and I also noticed this trip that with an aging body, travel isn't as easy as it used to be.

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p.s. good HEALTH in body, (even with an aging body😉) mind, emotions and spirit, is also a great privilege for which I have immense gratitude too ✨🌟💖🙏🕊️😘

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Thank you for sharing your travel adventures to such a beautiful place, Camilla. Glad you made it to your dream hike.

Any traveller will be able to relate, I think. Travelling, arriving, and returning safely are great privileges, we all too often take for granted.

On a recent trip to France we had a burst tire. Fortunately, it happened as we were approaching a peaje (toll) station, while slowing down. If the tire had blown at full speed on the motorway, who knows whether we would have made it to our destination and back home...

Our mantra in such synchronous moments is 'let the right thing do itself!' (a principle we learned through training in the Alexander Technique). Similar to the Buddhist practice, it helps to instantly detach from a potentially upsetting situation and connect with the greater plan of the universe.

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Hi Veronika, good to hear from you! Thank you for reading and responding. And yes, I’m enormously grateful for the privilege of travel. I’m also glad to hear that your blown tire wasn’t life threatening♥️🙏🏼🕊and thank you for sharing “let the right thing do itself.” I love that, and yes, it feels empowering to ‘connect with the greater plan of the universe.”

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So glad you had a good holiday in the end.!

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Thank you Miranda❤️🙏🏼🕊

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What beautiful pics Camilla! So sorry about the travel, what a challenge. Glad you had Banff on the other end. And your cautionary tale is perfect. I have hear this countless times, yet each telling rings true. Reminding me to let go of what I think is going on and simple be with is transpiring. The challenge may be a gift, the gift may be a challenge. Receiving the moment...

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yes, exactly Julie. thanks for reading and commenting❤️🙏🕊️

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Perhaps all that airline nonsense had to happen so you could write this AWESOME post, Camilla. I really enjoyed this piece. I enjoyed the tone of your writing. And I enjoyed how you shared your struggles. And, of course, I was thrilled to see you share the tale of ‘The Chinese Farmer’ (or so I’ve heard it called). I absolutely love that tale! :)

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Thanks so much Michael, your kind and generous comment gave me a big smile this morning😁❤️🙏🕊️

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Great Post, Camilla. Despite your travel woes, you both made it, in two pieces, to one of my parent's most favorite places to hike on this earth. I recognize much in your lovely photos. xx Ryder

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Hi Ryder, thanks for reading and commenting! It truly is such a spectacular part of this beautiful planet❤️🙏🕊️

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Beautiful post, Camilla! And such an important lesson. When I can step outside of a difficult situation and look at it more objectively, I can see my tendency to fight whatever is not going my way with the insistence that it should match my (high) expectations. There’s so much freedom if we can let go of that, if even a little, but we have to see it first. This post is a beautiful reminder to do that when it hits the fan 🙏

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Thanks so much for reading and commenting Andrea❤️🙏🏼🕊

And yes, it’s that freedom and spaciousness that helps us to suffer less. I’m so happy to have found your writing too😁

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What a beautiful post. Letting go of outcomes is such a release when we are able to allow ourselves that grace. And yet traveling is such a layering of time tables that its's much harder to let go with all the downstream impacts. You are an inspiration 🙏🏼. Your photos are breathtaking. And that trip is on the top of my wishlist for 2025.

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Thanks so much for your kind and generous response, Elizabeth. I highly recommend hiking in that area, and by next year, you should be able to get up to Jasper too - we had booked a hotel there too but were not able to go because of their fires. Spirit Island on Maligne Lake is still on my wish list❤️🙏🏼🕊

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