Loving the Choice

 

En route to my appointment, I passed by cafes, dress shops, grocers, fishmongers, pubs and a bookstore to name a handful.  I have observed that Pam with her knapsack on her back, is enjoying her current surroundings immensely.  Being out in nature, Regents and Hyde Parks are just minutes away.  Oxford and Regent Streets allow one to shop ‘til they drop.  Museums, restaurants and theatres abound in good ‘ole London town.  Since dropping into the scene of Marylebone a couple of weeks ago, we’ve enjoyed day trips to Cambridge, Windsor Castle and the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace.  I am basking in the availability of choice.

 

I did not realize until now how much I have missed having choice.  Jersey is a lovely island but does lack in opportunities as you would expect from any island with a population of just over 100, 000 people.  I am thankful that London is on our doorstep and that France is just a ferry away.  For me, these locations are saving graces.

 

Until now my journey has been living in Vancouver, San Francisco and London all of which offer plenty to do.  Brief sojourns of my life have taken me to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Edmonton and Jasper, Alberta as well as Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  At the time, these less populous locations provided me with a much-needed reprieve from my life with my challenging immediate family.   On the one hand, I was running away from home and on the other, running towards a freedom I could never know in Port Moody (the Vancouver suburb where I grew up).

 

Sometimes, when we are outside our world looking in, we can achieve objectivity which brings a certain clarity.  At least it was that way with me.

 

Today, I find it interesting that being in such a bustling city is helping me to see things in a new light.  For a variety of reasons, I have been in a state of overwhelm and feeling overwhelmed is something that I do not enjoy.  It stops me in my tracks.  I find it hard to be productive, instead I do things willy nilly.  I have never been an advocate of throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks.  I view it as a waste of my time and energy.

 

Exploring London and her environs has allowed me to recharge and refocus for I am not part of her but rather a keen observer, appreciating so much of what she has to offer.  I do this while missing my home, our Seaview, comfortable bed and beloved cat Frodo.   I do this as I gain excitement at the idea of decorating our new winter home in South Africa.

 

In my mind, I am in more than one place, processing and discerning my experience with wants and needs.  And I’d say that is usual for me.  I have a brain that doesn’t stop.  Just ask my husband.  My current thoughts are hopeful, appreciative, positive, excited for year ahead in so many ways from watching our grandson grow, our son’s wedding, the planning of our daughter’s next year, to dear friends from Canada coming to visit this summer to enjoying home(s) and travel with my husband.

 

And yes, overwhelm can be a good thing as it helps me to drop thoughts that are no longer serving me and give momentum to the ones that are.  The brain does that, it constantly sorts.  In NLP (neuro linguistic programming) – speak, the brain’s 3 main shortcuts are generalization, deletion and distortion.  The ability to draw knowledge from our past experiences enables it to save tons of energy that it can use for other tasks.

 

Spending considerable time on the art of thinking has led me to this place.  I share tactics in my podcast, Awaken to the Best You.  Although the episodes are a few years old now, the techniques I share are relevant.  I invite you to give them a listen at www.pamelapitcher.com/podcasts.