No Matter What May Be the Test

my wife and i will be leaving on a two-week trip to canada in a few days.  this morning i woke up early, and my mind was racing with details that need to be seen to before we leave.  all this past week, i've been trying to figure out how and what i need to pack.  now i'm thinking about all the paperwork and organizing our belongings to get through the airport.  it's difficult to focus on any one thing because so many things must be done.  perhaps my best solution for being able to concentrate on one thing at a time is to make a list so that i can tick things off as they're accomplished.  

i don't usually have this much difficulty keeping my mind calm and focused.  i'm wondering why this particular trip is presenting so many problems for my busy mind.  perhaps, it's because of the hassle that air travel has become.  if we were traveling by car or by train, many of the petty annoyances of planning would disappear, but the trip would take much longer and be more expensive.  i suppose this is a trade-off to give us more time to see the things in canada we want to see, since the time getting there and back is reduced by several days.

one thing i'm trying to do as i deal with the hassles of preparing for getting through the airports and onto the planes is accepting the way i feel with honesty and without self-recrimination.  why shouldn't i feel stressed by the demands of complying with security regulations and the possibility that flights will be delayed or cancelled and connections missed?  all i can do is my best to be prepared and accept that airline schedules are beyond my control.  the fact that anxieties are creeping into my mind is natural under the circumstances.  these worries are not failures but part of the fabric of travel in post-911, post-pandemic times, and i haven't failed if i experience them.

may each of us accept what we feel without condemning ourselves.  may we step back, seeing our worries and stresses for what they are:  part of the normal course of being human.  may we remember that there are thousands of travelers who are going through the same thing as they prepare for trips of all sorts.  in the midst of suffering, may we find peace and acceptance.  shalom.