One of my favorite aspects of travel is getting
in tune with a much higher degree of synchronicity. Frankly, it’s fun! Little
miracles pop up here, there, and everywhere while on the road.
In actuality, life is a bundle of synchronicities.
Everything is happening perfectly, even when it appears to be out of sync. It is the duration of an event in time
and space that gives it perspective. Most
of the time, we can only perceive a tiny snippet of a ‘happening,’ and from
that viewpoint, we judge it as good or bad.
If we were able to have a bird’s
eye of the entire arc of a happening, from a universal view, we would see all
of the ins and outs that make an event. An event, just like a thing or a
person, is not static. It is constantly changing and is an appearance like a
wave that arises and passes away. If we go deeper into it, in a micro view, or
we back out to the ultimate macro, we see all the various facets affecting the
appearance, and we see there is no good or bad. Judgment as bad or good is fallacious
in the absolute sense because it
never has the entire picture, the entire duration in time and space.
Life itself is magic. We do not realize the absolute precision of
elements fitting together, so we forget that everything is synchronous. When we
travel, and Hermes is having his field day, the synchronicities line up again
and again – so we notice. We are also outside of our usual rhythm and routine.
Since the backdrop is different, the way everything fits together so
miraculously comes to our attention.
The trick is to remember that “travel magic” is available to
us all the time, whether we’re on the road or not. All we have to do is take
note. Hermes leaves us clues at every turn. Noticing the small synchronicities
in life trains us to trust the grand play of life events. We learn that some
things take a little longer to play out – even if it's seemingly bad or painful
today, it may simply be taking longer to come to completion. As one saying
goes: “It all works out in the end. If it hasn’t yet worked out, it’s not the
end.”
I’m currently traveling through Germany as a companion
to an elderly family friend, a lovely 85-year old artist-photographer
revisiting her homeland. In the dining car on the train from Frankfurt to Berlin, we were discussing
what makes an artist’s mind different than a non-artist’s mind.
“In my experience, one main difference between a non-artist’s mind and an artist’s
mind,” I said to my friend over the sound of the train's clackety-clack with its lovely hum, “is
that the artist notices the possibility in every moment. It is living in magical realism.There are no ordinary
moments. Life is magic.”
At that moment, the waiter appeared at our table to take our
order for post-lunch coffee. My friend ordered herself an espresso, and I ordered a cappuccino.
After the waiter disappeared, I thought to myself, Oh, I wish I hadn’t ordered a cappuccino. I actually just want a normal
coffee. Oh well, too late. I’m happy with what Life brings. And I went back
to watching the green German countryside roll by outside the train windows.
Seconds later, the waiter reappeared at our table. “Wir
haben leider keine Milch mehr, also koennen wir keinen Capuccino machen. Darf
ich Ihnen etwas anderes bringen?” (I’m sorry, we are out of milk, and I cannot
offer a cappuccino. Can I offer you something else?
“Oh, fine!” I replied. “I’ll have a coffee
instead.
Everyday magic.
Try it for a while – notice how Life brings you everything
that you need and you can’t really make a mistake. Now, perhaps that’s all
perspective, too, but isn’t it a nicer way of viewing the world, given the
choice? Sure makes for happier travels.
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