“Who knows, one day I might actually find words to express my gratitude.” These were the words I said ‘au revoir’ with when I parted from my hosts Jaën and Gary at Victoria International airport, Vancouver Island.
It had been 9 days of bliss, surrounded by the beauty of the island and kept warm by an Indian summer, but even more so by the gentle-hearted hospitality of two people I had never met before. We had exchanged a few emails during the summer after Jaën had come across the blog article on overcoming my first fear.
It only took 4 emails to end up booking an airline ticket towards a place and people I had no idea existed 4 emails prior to that.
It’s been one of the little jems I have been fortunate enough to stumble upon during this first year of Pinching the Ostrich: the island, it’s people and the space, oxygen and serenity it brought to my always busy mind. Yet when I first got Jaën invitation to just come over for the sake of coming over, I hesitated.
My logic took the wheel and started dictating me questions such as: What are you going to do there? What people and places should you visit to make it worth your while? What business opportunities are there to be found or explored? Is this the sensible thing to do? And so on and so forth.
I suddenly became aware of that train of thought and of the fact that it took the heart out of the whole idea of just going along with it. And so I asked myself the following question: Karl, if one of your friends would come up to you and say that someone from practically the other side of the world was so wholeheartedly enthusiastic about Pinching the Ostrich that he/she got an invitation to go there for its own sake, how would you react?
The answer was that I’d be ecstatic for him/her and I would wonder why such a thing would always happen to other people.
Only this time, it didn’t happen to others, it actually fell into my lap, so what was I thinking? Maybe that was the problem? I was thinking it to death. At about that time Jaën asked me if there was something I wanted to do specifically, which gave me the perfect opportunity so say 'no'. Why no? Because I realized that the most beautiful, enriching and humbling things that had befallen me during the first months of PtO had been exactly the ones I didn’t plan for, it where the ones I had allowed to emerge simply by being open and vulnerable without imposing my my immediate control on it.
So I said no and told Jaën that I was about to leave my wife and daughters behind, to set of to a country I had never been to, to see people I had never met before. So I might as well build on that and extent that trust to allow things to happen.
After all, what is Pinching the Ostrich? Although it would seem meticulously planned, it does not claim to know how to get there. Although it would appear to be tremendously focussed, it draws its energy from whatever comes on its path. Although it may come across as very goal oriented, it realizes that these goals are mere known means to an unforeseeable end.
I do not wish to go into details about the journey to Vancouver Island itself, or even about my hosts. I wish to sherish and keep these memories private. But I do wish to acknowledge how humbling it is when trusting and being trusted meet. I cannot thank you enough Jaën and Garry, Bonnie and Bill, Diane and Wayne, Petra and Tom, Patrick, Linda, Alice and so many others I had the pleasure of being welcomed by.
You have given me far more that both you and I realize at this point.
The only thing I can do right now is to repeat the mantra Jaën taught me when I was there and was repeated by customs when they asked me if I had a good time on the island: Just say that 1) It rains all the time 2) people are miserable and 3) it’s bleedin’ expensive. ;-)
Take care,
Karl
Petra 10 October 2009
Hi Karl,
It was such a wonderful experience meeting you and I believe your journey in Pinching the Ostrich will take you to some amazing places and give you the opportunity to meet some truly amazing people.
I believe, not many people would take on what you have set out to do in the next 5 years.
I think people are frightened of the unknown and I truly believe many people are held back by their fears which is a shame as we could be missing out on so many wonderful and memorable opportunities in life if we would just be willing to try and see what happens.
You were so lucky to have met Jaen and Gary and they are absolutely wonderful people and I love them dearly as they are my best friends and would do anything for anyone.
Hope to see you again one day next time with your family.
Good luck in your journey!
Petra
ladynorth 11 October 2009
Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly.
The Island will always welcome you and your family.Thank you for sharing your Journey with us - I still can't believe how fast those 9 days went!
Blessings!
Jaën and Gary
Heather James 16 October 2009
I'm really curious about your project here. I'm also keen to follow along and find out more.
Your twitter link on the sidebar isn't working. Did you move?
http://twitter.com/Karl_Raats
Karl Raats 16 October 2009
Thanks for pointing that out, Heather. It's http://twitter.com/OstrichPincher now. I'll take care of it asap.
Thx again. Take care,
Karl
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