Sydney & its Harbour Bridge

This week I had scheduled a flying visit to Sydney.  Early flight in and late flight out, all in one day.  I enjoy flying somewhere unfamiliar on a weekday because I sort of get to be a fly on the wall of other people’s lives.  No one knows me, and I’m usually at the mercy of public transport so there’s nothing to do but watch people go about their daily lives.

Sydney, compared to where I’m from, is a completely different kettle of fish.  My hometown houses around 400,000 people whereas Sydney is jam-packed full of almost 5.5 million.  That means a whole lot more hustle and bustle and this small town girl feels like she’s five years old on a University campus.

The feelings, though thrilling, can almost be overwhelming too.  I’ve got to catch the right train and negotiate my way to my destination through frantic rush hour traffic.

With everything so fresh and unfamiliar I was sort of experiencing a sensory overload.  The smells of the food from the cafés I passed, the rush of heat around my legs as the train pulled to a stop, the sun reflecting off the tall office buildings.

While on the train to the office that morning, I was watching people get on and off at every stop.  Wondering what job they were headed to.  Each person engrossed in their phone.  Tapping away or listening to something.  All of a sudden the train emerges from the darkness of a tunnel and right before me stood the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Bathed in golden sunrise.  It was beautiful, almost breathtaking.

But everyone around me had seen this bridge a hundred times before, so they didn’t look up.  Their phone keeping their full attention.  I almost wanted to excitedly jump up and exclaim “look at that!”

I wondered what it is in my life that I miss every day because I’m so used to it.

I live about 30 minutes out of the city so I drive home through some farmland.  Yes, at times, I’ll notice small changes but most of the time I’m focussed on getting to my destination.  Often it’s rushing to get the kids to school or to my next appointment.

So, with renewed intent I am trying to stay present in the seemingly mundane.  That’s where the joy is found after all.

Rekindling the joy in life starts with mindfulness and being fully immersed in the moment.  I used to be (and sometimes still am) stuck in my head thinking about what comes next or worried about what I did yesterday, I miss the joy right in front of my face.  Enter “is this all there is to life?” hamster-wheel kinda thoughts.

You see, when we start thinking, it’s usually about the past or the future, and neither is productive.  We often end up in a rabbit warren of thoughts that lead to nowhere.  To just be in the moment is liberating.  Nothing is wrong with the present moment, it is exactly what it is.  And it just so happens that this is where the joy is overflowing.