Breathing Space

Waiting for Spring

After our adventure in Sri Lanka, we were able to spend one day and night in London before we made our way home. It was unseasonably cold in London but it was sunny and the first signs of Spring were everywhere.  The morning before we left on our long flight home we took a stroll in Hyde Park. There were people running and horseback riding. The daffodils were blooming and the flowering trees were blossoming.

I hope we have had our last snow fall this week and soon we will be experiencing the wonder of Spring too. I am dreaming about crocuses peeking through the earth, trillium covering the forest floor, birds signing and making nests and feeling the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.

I am dreaming about safe water and air for the citizens of Japan.  How very fortunate we are to enjoy these simple gifts.

 

Hope springs eternal in the human breast Alexander Pope 

 

 

 

 

Sleep Standing

Sleep deprivation is a national phenomenon. Most people do not get the amount of sleep their bodies and minds require to function at their full potential. My necessary sleep quota was time tested on this trip. I need my sleep. Ask anyone in my family. I do not function very well with a lack of sleep. I never even enjoyed sleepover parties when I was young and Emma cannot even fathom why I don’t like her to have them often.

One morning we got up at 4:30 a.m. to visit the Sri Lankan national park called Udawalawa, that is home to over 600  Indian elephants. An up close and personal interaction with elephants roaming freely is awe-inspiring. I have never seen baby elephants and that was very exciting. One of the babies was an orphan that had been adopted by a new mother and he rarely left her side. Did you know that elephants never lie down?

They sleep standing up and sometimes lean against a tree for support. They do not sleep much; they have much to do each day because they spend close to 16 hours just eating. Adults can eat 300-600 pounds of food per day. Elephants have no time to lie down, they are busy with the basics of life, which is always the best place to start.

I returned home from my serendipitous adventure last night, which was really early morning in Sri Lanka and I am even more grateful for good health and a good life. Sometimes we need to get out of our "comfort zone" to gain perspective and bring ourselves back to balance.

I am not recommending sleep standing but a good night’s sleep is a necessity for good health.Lisa found a quote for serendipity,which said, “When destiny has a sense of humor”. I have been in eleven time zones and had three overnight flights. I have slept on planes, taxis and the beach. I was so happy to sleep in my own bed last night even though my body is not quite sure what time it really is.

Ayubowan!

Did I mention that when the staff at the Amangalla hotel greeted us, they brought their hands to heart center and I followed suit and said Namaste, which is the traditional greeting in India. I learned that in Sri Lanka they use the Singhalese word “Ayuboyan”, which is used as a welcome and means good health and a good journey.  It is also a wish for a long life.

 

 

 

Serendipity?

I have had a trip planned to India with Lisa, my world–traveling friend, for several months. On Monday, the day of our scheduled departure we were meeting in Chicago for our trip to London and then on to Delhi. I received a call at home that my flight to Chicago was delayed, but I did make it to the airport in plenty of time for our international flight that evening. I made my way to the international terminal and then got in line to check in for my flight to London. Lisa was on her way to O’Hare from downtown Chicago and she was stuck in traffic which created a bit of tension, but is seemed like we would make the flight with a bit of time to spare.

When I handed my passport to the ticket agent at British Airways she inquired about my Visa for travel on to India. This is the first I had heard of this requirement and I quickly texted Lisa in her taxi ” No Visa Problem” instead of “No Visa, problem”. The stress was mounting and Lisa finally made it the airport and I informed her of our dilemma. This issue was not one that had a quick solution, as we were soon to learn. Stay in Chicago and try to get an emergency Visa (unlikely), or fly to London and re-route our destination? All of this needed to be resolved before we could catch our looming flight, which included over twenty hours of traveling time and a very carefully planned itinerary. Not to mention all of the prior planning and scheduling we did just to make the trip a reality and the fact that Tim just started a new job out of town. I was beginning to question our far-flung travel plans. Why had we not just planned a trip to FL?

What should we do? Where else can we go? We decided to fly to London and then evaluate our options. Smooth sailing was not the future of this part of our journey. After spending close to 12 hours in Heathrow airport moving from terminal to terminal via bus and train with suitcases in tow and maybe four hours of sleep we boarded a flight to Sri Lanka. Another 10 hours later, the manager of Amangalla where we ended our long journey said, “Welcome to the Gentler India, Sri Lanka”. Serendib is another name for Sri Lanka, which translates best into English as the word Serendipity, which means making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated. Were we meant to come instead to this alternative India? I felt like I was in an alternate universe after all that travel.

I choose to believe that these detours in life are often serendipitous occurrences.The Sri Lankan people are very kind and endearing and the country is beautiful. They have made much progress recovering from the Tsunami that took so many lives and did so much damage.