Integral to One's Word
- When choices are at play
SA Road Trip: Part 5
The storm raged throughout the night. Claps of thunder, light streaming through the edges of the Venetian blinds from the lightning strikes; it was if an invisible pause button had been pushed. Determining whether it was nature’s doing or from another source couldn’t be discerned, and didn’t matter anyway. I was set to climb out of bed at 3am and leave by 4am to meet the owners of the house and pet sit, on time, more than 400 kilometres away.
The reality of the situation upon rising was to leave at my appointed time meant I would pass through the worst of it. As Chris said, ‘It’s blocking your path.’
Indeed it was. ‘It’s your decision, of course,’ he said, ‘but I can see you in that little car of yours ducking and weaving the lightning strikes… It’s not as if you have big spotlights on that vehicle, either, to see where you’re going in the rain!’
He was concerned. I appreciated that. He was showing due care. I acknowledged that too. Yet it was still up to me what action I did or didn’t take.
Should I let the owners know I’d be late and feel I’d not maintained my integrity or take the risk? When I pulled apart the mind’s attachment to pride and being on time, because that’s integral to one’s word, and then bypassing my mind to listen to what my body was saying, because it’s the feelings in the body that are more reliable, I had to agree… It was a risk not worth taking, and the owners could potentially leave me a key.
An hour later, I left for my 5-hour drive back across the border from South Australia and into Victoria, passing to the right and below the storm’s path, witness to spectacular 5am views of lightning strikes in the distance. There, I drove in the middle of the road to avoid the flooded shoulders.
Once I’d passed beyond the storm, views of a glorious sunrise heralded a new day and a new landscape in which to play. As for the pet and housesit couple, they were lovely people who cared more about me arriving safely than me being late. They appreciated my regular check-ins to learn about where I was and were relieved when I arrived.
In my next post I share something akin to the Twelfth Night Epiphany. Until soon…
May we listen ever deeper to our inner mechanisms that know the ways of our unique essence, the one that signals us home to our true nature.
Love’s Harmonies,
Leanda Michelle ✍🏼📚