One of the many things I’m working on in my life right now is accepting what is, instead of agonizing, worrying and stressing about why it isn’t something else or how to get it to be something else. There are certainly times to work on changing things, but before I can act towards something I want, I need to truly understand and accept where I currently AM, regardless of whether or not I like it.
Posts Tagged ‘guests’
Accepting what is
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012Lost in Vienna
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012For most of the week that they’ve been here, Pam & Joshua have been treated, primarily, to a show of the Calle family collective stomach illness. (Fun.) Then, today, Pam decided to join us in the fun. They fly home tomorrow. I suspect they will be happier to see the jetway at the airport than they expected to be. (more…)
Riding the rails
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012Today was Pam & Joshua’s fifth day in Vienna. Their trip has, unfortunately, been interrupted frequently by various members of our family getting ill. Even though Liam is still sick (our pediatrician made a house call today to see him) and Dan & I are still not yet quite well (but we didn’t require house calls today), I decided to help poor Pam and Joshua beat cabin fever today, so Benjamin and I took them out.
My favorite thing
Friday, February 17th, 2012My wonderful friend Pam arrived in Vienna today, along with her 4 year old son, Joshua. I am so excited to see them — it’s almost surreal to have them visit us here. We’ve had a lovely day so far of catching up and talking — she’s telling me what’s been going on at home, I’ve been sharing what it’s like to live in Vienna. At one point, she asked me, “What’s your favorite thing about Vienna?”
An ironic question, but I gave it some thought. At first, I thought of the Christmas markets, and then I mentioned that I love how safe it is here. But I kept thinking about it, and realized that my absolute favorite thing about living in Vienna is the lifestyle.
I love that it’s not just accepted, but expected, that people will put time with their family ahead of their work. The profession you practice doesn’t define you here — people have as their priority their leisure and family time, and they fit work into that, rather than the reverse. The culture focuses on time spent together, rather than on the activity. Life happens at a slower, less hurried pace, and people stop to help each other when they need it — it’s almost a social obligation.
This is exactly what I needed to witness in my life. I needed to be exposed to a different way of doing things, to see how well it can work to focus first on what is truly most important. I’m learning to adopt some of these lessons in my own life (at least, I hope I am) and I’m really grateful for it. That’s my favorite thing about Vienna . . . so far.