Every now and then I wonder: why can things sometimes be so serious, and include struggles, while the Universe can be so playful at the same time? Like it’s moving you from one emotion to another, from one experience to the next one. Sometimes pushing you, other times cradling you. And often in the mood for a joke.
Barcelona
It took me months to book a flight to Barcelona. One of my dear friends was performing in a musical, at the well known baroque theatre called Tivoli. I wanted to support her, and I had kinda promised her to come and watch her show, but flights were expensive and hotel rooms even more. So I was mad at my precious city of Barcelona (I always call her “my first love”, and Madrid “my actual one”), selling herself out just for the money.
But when we entered the month of January – and my friend had her last two weeks of the show – I checked the rates for flights and hotels more frequently, and the Universe decided to give me a break: the cheapest flight to Barcelona ever and a 4-star hotel for a budget price were suddenly available. So I booked them immediately.
Memories
It was special to be in Barcelona again. Apart from the great architecture and the nice weather, I always realise how much the city is filled with my memories – Barcelona and I go way back. The first time I went, I was just a teenager; having Summer holidays at another beach city, for the first time without parents, and just accompanied by a great friend. After many years I returned, this time with a love of my life, and once more we went – as we visited Spain in general many times.
When I had moved to Madrid, I visited Barcelona as well. And once back in The Netherlands, I travelled to my beloved city again; this time while I was travelling through Spain for 5 weeks – so laidback. And something beautiful had started over there and then: the writing of my very first blogs. In the Starbucks, at the Carrer del Consell del Cent, one of the horizontal streets of the urban grid that makes up the elegant Eixample district. How can I ever forget? So needless to say, last time I sat down again, there at this Starbucks.
So Much To Tell
Although it was the reason of my visit to Barcelona, to watch my friend’s musical, this story won’t be going into that direction. Even while there is so much to tell regarding her show, my friend, visiting Barcelona, and being an empath in that context. Simply not, because this blog was about the Universe being playful, remember? But just in case you were wondering: I will certainly tell about those things in another blog.
Toying With The Idea
So back to the playful Universe. While I had moved heaven and earth to get a cheap flight and hotel room in the first place – or should I say: prayed to heaven and earth? – I did start toying with the idea of staying a little bit longer in Barcelona, since I liked it that much. Not much longer though, just an evening flight instead of a morning flight. But it was likely that it would make my trip more expensive, right? So once the travel agency told me that I couldn’t move my flight, otherwise I would need to buy a new flight to Amsterdam, I decided not to do so. But here comes the Universe in.
Check in
It was already late – say 10.30pm – and back at my hotel room I wanted to check in for my morning flight. But for some reason I couldn’t find the right flight details, so I started to chat with the travel agency. And to my frustration the guy couldn’t help me out. In fact, for some strange reason, I had to get back to them in 4 or 5 hours, because only some other department could help me out. I felt even more frustrated, since I didn’t feel like to wake up in the middle of the night, just to contact some department of their customer service, not even knowing if I was able to check in for my morning flight anyway. I mean, what was the problem?
El Prat Airport
So I decided to be on the safe side: I booked a new flight – an evening flight from another airline – so that I could have a decent breakfast at the hotel, could stay one afternoon longer in downtown Barcelona, and travel easily to El Prat Airport for my flight in the evening light. And I slept like a baby.
Once at the airport I would normally ask for a change of seat to the emergency exit, with more leg room (or I would have payed for it), but this time I decided to wait, since some loud guys were boarding as well, and I wanted to make sure they weren’t seated at those seats. Well, you might have guessed it: they actually were. So I just went straight to my reserved seat, some rows further, next to the window.
Openness
I was a bit tired, but not that much to be fully reserved. In fact, with the right person a conversation would kill time pleasantly, so I thought. And especially when things go differently than planned, I often wonder why ‘I need to be in this new situation’ – like because of a deeper meaning.
Some minutes later she entered my row, a young Spanish woman, in order to sit next to me. She seemed friendly and I sensed some openness, open to talk, but I just let her be. Once in the air I ordered an ice tea, and looked at some pictures on my phone that I had taken in Barcelona. She just stared off into space, and sometimes she tried to sleep – on and off the tray table. I might have had a little nap as well, but once awake, I still felt like talking to her – like the energy was inviting. But about what and how to start?
Energy
As if the energy had picked up my question, or the playful Universe had done so, pretty soon she put her arm in her bag and grabbed some book: ‘Surrounded by Idiots’. Funny title, so I thought. Should I ask her if I should feel offended?, was the playful thought that crossed my mind. And then I recognized the four colourful figures below the title, because of the subtitle: ‘The Four Types of Human Behaviour’. Turns out that my friend – the same high school friend with whom I had been to Barcelona for the very first time – had brought up this topic before, literally two weeks before. And the concept did ring a bell back then, but I just didn’t know about the book. So she and I clearly had something in common.
Resonating
Once I started the conversation, we had this really interesting talk about personal development, our lives, my activities as a coach, and her interest in these kinds of topics. She told me more about the book, her own profile according to the book, and the fact that she hardly knew other people who were interested in this book or similar topics. In fact, her boyfriend – who was more into financial stuff – thought it was offending to put other people in these boxes; the way the book ‘was doing’.
I also told her about systemic constellations, and pointed some things out that could be related to her own personal situation. I was happy to see that things were resonating with her. In my turn I was glad to have met somebody with whom I was able to discuss these kinds of topics. And before we knew it, we landed in Amsterdam, walked a bit together behind customs, thanked each other for the great conversation, and hugged each other goodbye.
Funny
Now the whole meeting could have been a coincidence, and my frustration was real when I couldn’t check in for my morning flight. But my joy prevailed quite soon, once I realised that I would stay longer in Barcelona, taking an evening flight. Besides, maybe we just had a great conversation since I started it, and we happened to have the same interests. But of course, things would have been different if I had taken my morning flight – without a doubt.
Yet, there was something else that made it funny and interesting. While we were talking in the airplane, we introduced each other at some point. And even though she clearly mentioned: “Carla”, I addressed her a bit later by “Clara”, which she corrected without any hard feelings by the way. So when I got home, I checked my Telegram (on another phone), and to my biggest surprise I saw this vague message from a stranger. And no, it wasn’t from Carla, but it did say: “Clara”, of all people. And she assumed to be a hotel promoter. So okay, you could argue the whole message by saying: well, maybe some Google app overheard the name “Clara” or so, when I called her by the wrong name, and triggered some ad or sales person. But still, this message was sent in the morning already, and around boarding time of my morning flight. I mean, could it be more playful?
