I once had a rather amusing experience while traveling. In a state of flow, I “flew” through three countries in 20 hours. In 2018,
First I ventured to a remote location in Catalonia, where I had a wonderful time with my English friends who lived in an old finca amidst nature. Afterward, I traveled to Mallorca and spent quality time with a friend who had been living there for years. He was an architect turned artist, with a unique abstract painting style focusing on Buddha figures. In addition to his art, he also taught tai chi.
After a month or two, I decided to head home to the Netherlands. I took the ferry from Mallorca to Barcelona and made up my mind to drive back as far as possible, stopping only when necessary. The journey from Barcelona to the Netherlands is a 1,400-kilometer drive.
However, in the middle of France, my gearbox started acting up. With 700 kilometers still to go, the gearbox was on the verge of breaking. It made a lot of noise in the lower gears, and I could only drive normally in fourth gear. Since my car was old (The Volvo V40), replacing the gearbox in France wouldn’t have been worth it. I took a chance and decided to drive to Holland.
I had to make a few stops along the way—for tolls, restroom breaks, and refueling. Each time I had to use the gearbox, which posed a challenge because with its use, there was a risk of it completely breaking down and rendering the car inoperable. If that had happened, my car would have been considered a total loss and would have needed to be towed away…
Unfortunately, I encountered a traffic jam in Belgium, so I ended up driving an extra 100 kilometers to avoid it. Thankfully, there are no more border controls in many European countries, so I passed through Germany to circumvent the traffic jam.
My clear goal was to reach Holland while minimizing stops and using the gearbox as sparingly as possible. I wanted to accelerate to the 4th gear and stay in that gear as much as I could.
It was a challenge that pushed me slightly out of my comfort zone, especially because I was traveling alone. However, I embraced it as a positive challenge. And guess what? I made it! I arrived in Holland, completely in flow! Although the next day, a friend had to tow my car to the garage.
My lesson: You can create a flow state from any activity. It’s a matter of awareness and practice.
Ralph 🧡🙏
