Last updated on April 12, 2020
A few months ago, I shared with a friend how I’d inadvertently packed a bunch of trips into this year. Between April and September, I had plans to catch up with an old friend in the US, attend work events in Austria and Portugal, visit friends in Germany, and take a river cruise on the Elbe. The biggest trip in terms of the amount of planning that went into it was the river cruise.
Plans for a Cruise
My friend H was going to visit me in Prague sometime back but was unable to at the time for personal reasons. We finally agreed to go on a river cruise in Europe. We spent months looking at the options and considering dates. Mostly, our plans were delayed because I needed to first finalize some travel dates for work. We finally agreed to go on the cruise in September, starting one day before my birthday. It would be a one week cruise with stops in Austra, Hungary, Slovakia and Germany, and we’d take the train back to Prague for a few days. H would return to Canada from Prague.
We created accounts with our cruise line, and paid the deposit. H and I sent messages back and forth about optional tours we could participate in as part of the cruise. And then, coronavirus started spreading. We talked at the beginning of March and decided that September seemed far away enough for us to be optimistic. As the virus continued to spread and WHO declared a pandemic, we became less certain. Thee planning stopped and our major concern was whether to cancel or pay the rest of the fee for the cruise.
The Limits of Control
In the end, we decided that everything is too uncertain right now to shell out thousands of dollars on a possible cruise in a few months. In fact, all my trips have been cancelled and I have no travel plans, no plans to visit family in Canada or to meet up with friends who are local or elsewhere in the world.
It’s amazing that the world has changed so incredibly in a matter of weeks. Many things that are just out of my control no matter how much I’d like to orchestrate them. It’s an incredible, humbling lesson, that we have both more control and less control than we think. I’m focused on the things I can control: what to eat, whether to work out, finding ways to contribute in the world, and figuring out how to engage with others. You too, are able to direct many things in your own life.
During April, I’m participating in the writing prompts challenge from WordPress.com. Want to participate? Find the prompts here.
Like most of us who had made plans to travel and already paid for our trips, looking forward to another pilgrimage, we resorted to practicing a spiritual retreat instead.
I’m trying that as well, focus on the spiritual. There’s lots to do even though the face to face is missing.
The world is changing and maybe, just maybe we’ll listen and change, too. I have seen many positive changes and I am hoping when the storm subsides, the changes will keep. Have a wonderful day. Peace.
Thank you for commenting. I’m curious to see what we will create on the other side as well. Have a lovely day!
It is horrible, isn’t it? To cancel travel plans, things you’ve been looking forward to and have researched. I have an upcoming trip to the States to see family, but for now, it’s on hold. Like the rest of the world.
Take care!
Yes, I’m still trying to find the silver lining đ
Take care as well. đ
I relate so much to this.. I had at least 4 work related trips scheduled already plus some other planned but unscheduled ones.. Guess it’s a time to be creative close-by..
Yes, it’s definitely time to be creative. I’m finding myself resistant to any more time on Zoom and similar tech though…