Adventures of a Solo Traveler

As I embarked on a journey of a lifetime, I couldn't help but draw my consciousness towards the deeper metaphors hidden within the external adventures of flight delays and changes as I traveled to the sacred land of Vrindavan, India. I had been warned that traveling to the holy places came with challenges, but having 2 planes turn into 6 planes and airports in 4 new countries was an adventure I wasn't fully prepared for!

This adventure held magic, despair, release of overwhelm, and laughter. Isn't that a deep metaphor for life as we navigate the ever changing flow of chapters and seasons?

What I know is the solo adventures, whether feeling the depth of aloneness in times of grief, or embarking on connecting deeply with nature, allows an inner strength, courage, and curiosity to bubble up. I have found determination, resilience, self-compassion, and self-trust in the process, recognizing that I have been carried by a force far greater than myself during times of greatest need.

This adventure was no different, as I was forced to lean into faith in the greater plan, rely on the mercy of others to help me navigate my way, and allow space for whatever emotions came up to release so that I could settle back into seeing the magic. Had I fallen into anger, despair, and frustration, as I witnessed many travelers do, my story would have been completely different.

Believe me, I have had many opportunities to experience the futility of falling into these frustrations at life's unexpected deviations. It is only through these experiences that I have learned the futility of giving into despair and anger at what was beyond my control. Perspective broadens as we recognize that our greatest suffering comes in our refusal to accept what is.

As I have taken time to process, a few questions have arisen that I want to offer out to you. How do you navigate life's unexpected aventures?

What resources are you able to pull from past experiences to help you find the resilience and determination needed to adjust your response and actions in the face of the unknown?

How can you see unexpected adventures as a new opportunities to step forward with courage?

Unexpected Delays:

We make our plans, but there are forces far beyond our control that impact the ability for those plans to run smoothly. When a plane door won't show it is sealing, there is an unexpected delay. Of course, when the delay shifted from 45 minutes to 3 hours, my connecting flight was no longer an option. I was dependent upon the airline to come up with a new arrangement to get me to my final destination in time to travel from the airport to Vrindavan with a friend.

They rerouted me in an interesting fashion where I needed to travel backwards in order to go forward as they had me fly East to Amsterdam, then West to London. Isn't that the story of any healing process or new venture we embark on? As a physical therapist helping others recover from surgery and illness, I often relied on the metaphor of two steps forward, one step back to describe the overall healing process. Have you experienced that in your own life journey?

Being Rerouted:

That reroute ended up not being the only one I dealt with. I managed to miss the chaos of weather delays in the US that had gripped half the country, but weather in Amsterdam put everything behind as well. I spoke with the agent in Amsterdam about my ability to catch my conneting flight and she offered reassurance that, in London, we could make our connections in 14 minutes. I would eventually laugh about that clearly inaccurate statement!

Sometimes our plans derail and we need to find a new route to get us to our goals. Who would have thought the next best solution would be a flight from London to Dubai, then Dubai to Mumbai, then Mumbai to Delhi? To say I was lost, confused, and overwhelmed is an understatement! London held space for my exhaustion, overwhelm, and overload as I prayed for mercy from the security officer to let me through to the terminal without a boarding pass, expressed my exhaustion to the agent at the gate asking me where I wanted to sit, and allowed the tears stream down my face as my sensory system released the wildness of the adventure.

This new reroute offered another curious question: do I spend a night in Delhi, or do I adventure into a 3 hour drive to Vrindavan at night? I had plenty of time to process on the 6 hour flight from London to Dubai.

I can't imagine what would have happened had I fallen into anger and frustration that would have paralyzed my capacity to problem solve and process my next steps forward.

Undeserved Mercy:

As mentioned above, I received mercy from the security guard who accepted the WhatsApp message of my rerouted flights instead of a boarding pass. By some small miracle, I ended up in the right terminal for my rerouted flight, and the agent at the gate put me in a window seat with an open middle seat which allowed me to stretch and get a little sleep on the 6 hour flight.

The flight attendants did their best to accommodate meals that met my vegetarian diet and offered joyous smiles and interactions that helped calm my stressed out nervous system. On my final flight, the passenger next to me heard my preference for a vegan meal, which the airline couldn't accommodate last minute. This gentleman kindly offered his vegan meal to me and went ahead and ate the vegetarian meal! What an act of selfless service! I was filled with gratitude!

Somehow in the midst of the chaos, I had lost my boarding pass that was needed to get through customs in India! I may have been panicking a bit in line, but when I went to the customs agent, I leaned into honesty. "Sir, I have been rerouted multiple times trying to get here. I cannot find my boarding pass. here is the information I do have." He miraculously accepted the information I was able to provide and allowed me entrance into India.

Things happen. We sometimes create our own messes. Sometimes we are the recipients of others' messes directed towards us. Sometimes we project our messes onto others. Our human experience comes littered with mistakes, setbacks, and challenges. What I have found is when we lean into vulnerable honesty with the right people, mercy follows. Fortunately I was dealing with others in the service industry who were understanding of mishaps, reroutes, and sudden changes. They all offered understanding and compassion in return for my honesty, offering my soul peace of mind and hope that all would work out as it was meant to.

When, in the midst of your setbacks, missteps, and mistakes, have you received undeserved mercy? When have you been the one offering that mercy to others? These are questions that can tap us into the energy of interconnected life, recognizing our humanity, and allowing for imperfections to flow through and around us with grace leading the way.

Tapping Into Moments of Magic:

Not only were these acts of mercy moments of magic, but there was magic in the various interactions with fellow passengers, witnessing both the sunset and sunrise as well as the shining moon while on various flights, and recognizing the small moments of peace that penetrated the chaos.

As we were close to landing on one of the flights, I turned on a random music station offered on the plane. I heard a song titled Joy in the Morning. As I paused, breathed, and took in the lyrics, I couldn't help but feel the magic of the holy land calling me to understand there would be joy in finally arriving at my destination. The endeavor would be worth it and magic would reveal itself.

Before I even left, I was able to participate in a Zoom call because of the first flight's delay.

I had interesting interactions with others who were either getting ready to embark on an adventure one of my friends had just returned from or had been on that very adventure with my friend! I had opportunities to hear about the adventures unfolding in others' lives and speak about my upcoming adventure in sacred land.

In my adventures, there was magic in connecting with perfect strangers. We will likely never interact again, but the opportunity to pull into community with the headaches of delays and reroutes offered magic in recognizing the interconnectedness of life. Various twists and turns allowed my story to impact others and others' stories to sweetly impact me. Being open to the adventure helped make all this possible.

I did take up the taxi service offer to pick me up from the aiport and complete my travels as quickly as possible, even if that meant traveling with a stranger at night. It was a 3 hour drive. I spoke English, my driver spoke Hindi. He asked if he could play some music and I agreed. For 3 hours, I sat back, listened to the magic of foreign music and dozed off from time to time, giving into complete exhaustion from the wildness.

We arrived at my final destination at 11:58 pm with the attendant opening the door and welcoming me at midnight, in time to celebrate the auspicious appearance day of the original guru, Lord Nityananda. The magic of that moment completely overwhelmed me as I was finally welcomed with open arms into the holy land of Vrindavan.

Reflecting on Growth Over the Years:

My various solo adventures have offered an opportunity for deep reflection and awareness of the growth in confidence, faith, and courage coming through my determination to keep moving foward and embracing the adventure of life. One key moment revealed the depth of growth that had happened in less than a year.

While I was traveling on the 3 hour commute from Delhi to Vrindavan, the driver pulled over to have a little break. It was pitch black and I was left in the car alone in a foreign land with no defenses. I was surprised by the fact that I was calm and aware of my surroundings. Why was this a surprise?

Well, 10 months before, I had some dreams that launched me into recollection of nightmares of being brutally attacked in dark alleyways. One evening shortly after this most recent dream, I found myself in downtown Salt Lake City in the dark of night walking towards mass transit to get me back to my car. I noticed I was feeling anxious with a racing heart. I was hypervigilant of my surroundings while also tapping into my mantra meditation to calm my nerves.

There I was, in my hometown, partially panicked as I walked down the dark streets. And yet, being stopped in a foreign land for 10 minutes at a rest stop with many other men walking around the car, I found myself calm, aware, and smiling. The depth of growth, faith, and confidence that had been forged over the adventures of 10 months was palpable. I quietly offered deep gratitude as I understood the adventure had offered me valuable insight that would shape my experience in Vrindavan, especially as I found myself walking down lit alleyways at night!

Life is an Adventure-How We Approach the Adventure Shapes Our Reality

One of the core tennets of wellness coaching and holistic living is developing mindsets that allow us to tap into the magic of the unknown adventure. Having an explorer's mindset and trusting we are held by a force greater than ourselves can help us tap into hope in the midst of setbacks, grief, despair, or fear.

Curiosity opens us up to possibility and seeing the small synchronicities we might otherwise miss. Breathing in the midst of our storms offers the opportunity for solitude to shape our resilience, forge our courage, and help us to see everything we need resides within the power of connecting to our wise inner companion.

We may not have control of what comes our way, but we are responsible for how we respond. As I mentioned, I witnessed plenty of people dipping into frustration with the delays. This closed them off to having interesting conversations with other travelers who were experiencing the very same delays. The energy emanated from those who were seeing the delay as a frustration was palpable. The energy emanating from those who were feeling disappointed, yet open to seeing beyond the delay invited interesting conversations and pulled us into unity that helped ease the distress of missed connections and altered plans.

Had my plans not been changed and rerouted, I would have missed out on the opportunity to connect with others in interesting ways, witness and appreciate the depth of my growth, and tap into courage and faith needed to help me navigate the wildness of the adventure. Sure, there were a few tears, but laughter, contentment, and joy arrived in the morning as I marveled at the magic and mercy that sprinkled 47 hours and 11,000 miles of travel!

This is the invitation of seeing life as an adventure, where setbacks are stepping stones, closed doors reroute us to new opportunities, and failures offer lessons and growth. The more we can step courageously into the unknown, the greater opportunity we have to tap into honest vulernability, mercy, and magic that sprinkles life with blessings coming in the most unexpected ways.

Life is a journey of imperfect responses to our various circumstances. Leaning into self-compassion for not responding how you desire is necessary for growth to happen. There is great power in learning to pause, self-reflect, and assess how our imperfections can point us towards learning new ways of responding with wisdom leading the way.

I want to leave you with one final deep reflection: I was never traveling solo! My closest companion, who sees the future and plans the present, was always by my side. Having faith in this divine presence helped me tap into strength beyond my own ability, trust beyond my mind's logic, and hope that all would turn out exactly as it was meant to.

Are you willing to enter into the adventure of life with faith that you are being carried by a force greater than yourself? How would you respond if you fully trusted that what was meant for you will never pass you by? What would life look like if you took more time to accept what is and seek the magic of the experience?

There is one certainty in life: It will rarely go as we imagine. Change is an ever present companion. Delays, closed doors, and reroutes help us tap into the deepest parts of ourselves and forge our character. If we avoid these necessary adventures out of fear of the unknown, then we just might miss out on the abundant blessings awaiting us.

Sending you all much love as you adventure in life!

Sunrise and clouds looking over the wing of an airplane mid-flight.