First Steps: Sydney
When the plane wheels hit the ground in Sydney, I felt hesitant but hopeful. Jet-lagged and far from home, but trusting in the experiences that await me. I have to pinch myself a bit to believe that I’m really here. I dreamed up this whole adventure while packing to leave our Airbnb in Bondi Beach back in March. Some voice from somewhere seemed to say that I should come back. I imagined maybe I could drive cross-country, spend the summer in Jersey, and return to Sydney in the fall, but I almost shrugged it off as too crazy of a plan. When I bought my ticket, I even purchased the flight insurance, which I rarely ever do.
But everything since then has seemed to fall into place. My clothes and car are all at my mom’s house in NJ. I put my car insurance on hold for $20/month and took out a “planned non-operation” certificate so my vehicle could potentially stay registered in California next year. I have a place to stay with a dear friend for the first month. I didn’t have to use that flight insurance after all.
In spite of my middle seat, I slept for the first half of the flight here. Then the woman next to me asked if I wanted to switch to the window seat because she kept needing to get up. My streak of airplane seat luck continues! After watching a movie, I discovered a very timely book on my Kindle written by an Australian author. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying offers some of the exact messages I needed to hear and that I have faith will guide me in this whole process. As I settle in, I am reminded not to grasp and force frantically. The author shares the way she fell into composing music and caring for the elderly. Her story rings so familiar to me as she stepped away from a “good” job in banking to chart her own course. From feeling the joy of an afternoon alone beside a stream, to the exhaustion of overworking in service of others, her life stories really resonated with me. I had totally forgotten about the book’s place in my Kindle library, and yet it seemed to find me at just the right time.
As the plane descended into a grey early spring day, I closed my eyes to stop and breathe. Let things unfold. Follow your heart. Don’t chase the money (ok, maybe chase it a little bit to find a job in under a month…) Don’t let the fear of running out of it guide your choices. I am eager to push something to unfold—I set up a bank account, got a new phone number, and sent a dozen applications on the first day—but after my in-flight reading, I am willing to try to be patient and see.