No Limits | The Freedom Blog™
Travels in Istanbul - "You Watch, I
Drive!"
Written by Steven Griggs |
stevengriggs.com
“You
must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.”
Steve Maraboli
"Sometimes surrender means giving up trying
to understand and becoming comfortable with not knowing."
Anonymous
I'd finally arrived in Istanbul late at night. My sister had
arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport.
My sister has lived in Istanbul for 5 months and does not
have a car. Generally to get to Istanbul from the outlying suburb she lives in
requires a long walk to the subway, a long ride to the docks, a ferry ride
across the Bosporus to Kadakoy and then a tram ride to go anywhere else in the
city.
So for my first jaunt in Istanbul late at night I thought it
would be better to hire a driver. Very little signage is in English, very few
people speak it and she lives very far away from the airport.
She said my driver spoke English and at first he did. But
after the greeting and a few short sentences that was it.
At first everything seemed fine but then he started stopping
at every cross street and looking around at the different buildings. After the
5th or 6th time he stopped at a crossroad I asked if he had the number of my
sister's Turkish friend to call for better directions. At first he ignored me,
but after the second time I mentioned it he turned to me and said "You
watch, I drive".
I immediately got it and said nothing more. But it made me
think, and I realized I was holding on too tight to knowing. I was trying to
control the outcome by trying to influence the driver.
Yes it was important to get to my destination, but I knew I would
eventually get there. It just might take
longer, and maybe I would get a chance to "watch" a little more.
But it really struck home as I realized I was not staying
within my control zone, meaning within my own mind and body.
I continued to watch myself over the next few days. I
noticed that I was continually trying to "control" my progress on the
various transportation legs by visualizing the next the steps I would be
taking, trying to anticipate what was next.
Where would I stand to avoid the crush of the crowd onto the
ferry, what cabin would I get on in the subway, etc.
I had to remind myself that it didn't matter where I stood in
the line, it didn't matter what the crowd was doing, none of it really
mattered. All that mattered was that I was in Turkey getting ready to visit
some of the most fascinating historical sites in the world. Some of the places
I'd always dreamed of visiting.
So right then I decided - I am here, I am living a dream and I
will just sit back and watch from here on out.
www.stevengriggs.com
