anything significant happen?
Why don’t you go through this while I take a nap?
Sounds great, Davis. But before you go to bed, did anything significant happen while I was gone?
He contemplated for a few seconds, then let out a lazy shrug he said, nope
I proceeded to tear open envelopes and start a pile for bills, trash, etc. but paused when I held a thick, letter-sized envelope in my hands. It was from Allstate, my auto insurance company. Words about some claim and a collision blurred before me. Does that say $5,000? I woke up Davis.
Dude, what the hell is all this?
Just two months ago I rock climbed two 5-pitch routes in the Swiss Alps. To my climbing buddies at Vertical Ventures, that may not have been much. To me, it runs parallel alongside with Mt. Everest. Alone with my climbing partner for hours with no extra layer of clothing for the cooler altitude (dumb) and no helmets (dumber). Just a couple of Floridians who ascended granite walls “looking for dimples.” And now that off belay, I come home to this?
Half-asleep Davis examined the papers before replying.
Oh yeah. I sort of ran your car into a construction zone and did a little damage? He murmurs his reluctant recall of the accident.
Like about $5,000 worth?
Do I spend $6 on some fromage and jambon? Or, should I grab a train ticket for the same price? My entire trip sans airfare, which I applied towards the frequent flier miles I racked up from my corporate business travel, came to about $3,000.
Uh-huh … but it’s all taken care of! I paid the deductible and everything. If you want, I’ll even make-up for any increase in your policy.
I survived the rock climbs, even after my partner confessed the routes were harder than what he sold me on. The rest of the two months I spent traipsing through Parisian neighborhoods (and those in Rome, Barcelona. Etc.), partying with other backpackers, romancing the inviting Mediterranean Coast, sunbathing in the Greek Islands of Naxos, Paros Santorini … all the while enjoying regional cuisine, wine and the company of locals. And most importantly, I found comfort in the simplest moments. Like absorbing the idyllic countryside of mountain goats and cowbells while waiting for the next train to arrive.
That’s fine, Davis.
But when I asked you if anything significant happened while I was gone, well this totally qualifies.
Got that?
Check.
I was enormously gratefully for Davis who kept his end of the bargain as the temporary tenant of my apartment, which served as a break from living at home with his parents. He paid the full rent and utilities for the two months I was away. And since he didn’t have a car, I offered him full use of my 13-year old Toyota sedan that I proudly covered with climbing stickers. It was inarguably a good deal for both of us.
While Davis played apartment dweller, I embarked on a two-month journey to follow the cliché “to find myself” after severing a 14-year relationship. And I did. I found the more courageous me. The more understanding me. And the bonus was I started to discover the more forgiving me.
Okay Davis. One more time, did anything else significant happen while I was gone?
Patience. Lots of patience. Dealing with it kept me fairly as I wandered from one country to the next. Early one morning, my overnight train came to halt at its first stop. Straight from sleep, my cabin mates, a father and his daughter, jumped up to quickly to get off. Startled and confused, I too awoke with them, grabbed my 30-pound backpack and a mini one and stepped out onto the platform. In minutes, after the train disappeared down the tracks, I realize I had no idea where I was. Clearly it was not my final destination. Just somewhere in the Spanish countryside where the hills echoed of cowbells. In this WTF moment, I melted into an uncontrollable bawl. A lady, the only other person at the train stop, desperately wanted to put me at ease. In her broken English, she managed to tell me that the next train will arrive in two hours. It will come. It will come.
So I stopped the stupid crying. Looked up and started to take in the panoramic landscaped. Damn, I thought to myself, the Universe just granted me 120 minutes to be still, absorb and practice patience. Don’t waste it.
Davis disappeared into his thoughts. Um, nope nothing else significant happened …
Okay, then why don’t you go back to sleep.
I pride myself on being organized. My packing list for my European-bound luggage only allowed for items that made sense. Sundresses that folded easily, a hand towel vs. a full bath one, disposable contact lenses and so on.
So of course upon my return, paying bills was on top of my to-do list.
Out loud I said to myself, I guess the first thing to pay is next month’s rent.
Davis must have heard me. Half-way to the bedroom, Davis quickly pivoted towards me. Um, oh yeah. The Rent check.
What about the rent check, babe?
Yeah, well, you’re like gonna have to make out the check to someone else.
My apartment is one of eight units in a building in the middle of quiet, tree-lined neighborhood. The landlord, who collects the tenant checks, is a 20-something year-old guy who lived in Apt. #1. We’ll refer to him as Smith.
Well, it seems Smith’s mom hadn’t heard from him in a few days so she came by his place.
Wine tasting in a cavernous cellar, where samplers where laid out on well-spaced wine barrels. Only candlelight kept the rooms from total darkness. Each sip of a different varietal was heavenly. Yes, this was my reality and it was intoxicating.
Uh … Smith shot himself in the head with a gun in his living room. That’s where his mom found him.
This exchange took place long before I fulfilled my promise to live in a place where I’m surrounded by beauty every day, where ocean met beaches is an endless landscape for miles. Long before now where’s not uncommon to enjoy tranquil lunches at the gliderport that where I can pretend to soar on my own parachute.
Ugly truths will always exist. As will my zen.