the interdependence of volcanoes
My current contemplation is how my dharma practice can help me expand my comfort zone. I would love to be the kind of person who is just totally loose and comfortable in any situation, but I”m not. Yet. I’m working on it and step one is to clearly admit my comfort zone boundaries. I don’t think they are huge but I do like a good cup of coffee in the morning and that is something that I can learn to let go of. There are other things I might not tell you about but I don’t think the list is huge. The whole point is not to be spoiled and to be able to be fine with whatever, so that I can be grounded and open and helpful to others no matter what. This week offered several opportunities to practice this.
We got to the Berlin Train Station two hours early in hopes of getting a reserved seat. No such luck. Customer service was, well, kind of non-existent. I guess the train employees are overworked at this point. The station was packed. Long lines. Especially in the bathroom which costs 80 cents. That really, really annoyed me and I almost lost my equilibrium then. I mean, that is a basic human service. But, what can you do? Put the coin in the slot and for that you get a choice of 8 stalls in the biggest station in Berlin, and blah blah blah. OK, I’m letting that go. Onward.
The station is very modern and that is kind of cool. But the platforms are all outdoors. The wait can get pretty cold. I'm letting that go, too, and pulling my scarf tighter. Glad to have a scarf, right?
After a mad scramble, and getting kicked out of my seat twice, Dave finally found us two unreserved seats. Some people did have reserved seats including the nice old lady and her son who were next to us. They bought their tickets three months in advance. I settled in to finish my YJ article on Uttanasana.
The landscape is flat, flat, flat. Lots of modern windmills. The train ride was 7 hours but 45 minutes of it was on a ferry. Yes, the train went right on to the huge ferry and that was sort of fun.
We arrived in Copenhagen and got off on the wrong stop. Nanna met us and put us back on the train for one more stop and then we were there. Ta da!
