(Trying) to follow the sun (heart)

Last week we were in Austria on holiday. It was beautiful – the scenery is breathtaking and we were in Hildegard – our new motorhome – and so it was a great adventure for us and Leoni our dog. We had been hiking up in the mountains for the first few days and discovering the mountains and the amazing web of paths.

The weather had been gorgeous – lovely sunny days perfect for hiking and then it began to have powerful thunder storms at around 5.00pm. That was fine by us, except the couple of days that we got caught in it – but having Hildegard meant we always had a dry space to go to.

Then one evening a huge thunderstorm came through. Sheets of rain and hailstones the size of gob stoppers pounded on the roof of Hildegard, it was quite impressive. As you can see the campsite looked pretty dismal.  The next morning we woke in cloud and looking at the weather forecast we saw that we were going to be in cloud for the next four or five days. Deciding that five days stuck inside were not going to be much fun we started to look at options.

One was to go back home to Zurch but it did not really feel like a good way to end our holiday – especially as we were only half way through. In the end we decided to go down to Croatia. Beatrice’s parents live down there for the summer and they had texted us and said that the weather was brilliant and often when the rest of the country was covered in cloud the place they lived was blue sky.

Sometimes you just have to follow the sun

So we set off to follow the sun. Leaving the cloud behind we set off south.  Driving through the mountains we guessed that the scenery was probably breathtaking – not that we could see it through the clouds. Sometimes you just have to trust that something is true even if you can`t actually see it!  We continued driving and the rain simply did not let up. Not only that as we crossed the border into Slovenia the heavens opened even more. The heavens opened and stayed open for 3 hours.

Our hearts began to drop – had we exchanged one rain soaked view for another?  Was trying to follow the sun – and our hearts to continue our journey rather than give up and go home the wrong decision?  We were simply driving 7 hours for nothing?  At that moment we had a choice – get despondant or choose to see the best in whatever unfolded.  We decided that whatever the outcome it was better to have tried – better to have followed our hearts than be sitting at home having given up on the holiday.

Don’t set false expectations – just live what is

So why am I telling you all this?  Because as I drove through the rain for those 3 hours it reminded me of how sometimes even if we cannot guarantee the outcome of a decision it is not a good enough reason not to give it a go.  That even when the clouds and rain of life make it impossible to see far ahead the main thing in life is to keep on going.  And to keep on going not with false expectation – trying to second guess the outcome, but rather to bring our best inner state to whatever is happening.  At one point as we started describing to each other what we would be seeing if we had a view – we decided to enjoy the journey – whatever the outcome.

What we did – which is what we all need to do in life – was to drop any expectation of what would unfold and to simply enjoy the holiday – enjoy the journey.  We arrived with the clouds still grey around us and out to sea was blue sky and the promise of a lovely day the next day.  And now I sit here having just got back from a lovely swim in the sea and the sun and blue sky all around.  And it feels like a gift – because we had decided that whatever the weather we were going to enjoy – we would go to the beach and swim even in the rain.  We would enjoy whatever came.

So I invite you to always follow the sun, always follow your heart. It might not lead you to where you think it is going to – like we had planned a hiking holiday in Austria and here we are by the beach in Croatia – but it will lead you to where the sun is shining in life if you let it – and simply trust.