We have all been there.
A white kiosk at the airport displays a red dot, pinpointing my location. Numbered gates sprawl in every direction. Planes sit poised on runways, their noses pointing somewhere, everywhere all at once.
Outside the terminal, highways, freeways and exits are tangled together like a drunken sailor’s knot. I start the engine of my rental car and study the G.P.S. A blue dot confirms my starting point.
Anxiety builds as I try to anticipate where the next turn will be. Am I on the correct route? Will my estimated time of arrival be accurate? There’s only one way to know – begin the journey.
Having recently traveled and gone through this very exercise, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the similarities between my trip and the challenges one faces following a Traumatic Brain Injury.
In an instant, my carefully organized life collapsed into shambles. Gone were the bookends and page markers. Information I desperately needed for day-to-day life lay scattered in chaos. The road map had blown out the window.
After weeks of healing from my physical injuries, I entered Neurological Rehabilitation. Much of my frustration in those early days was a result of wanting to be further ahead on the recovery timeline. I often heard this reminder during my daily therapy: “You are here right now. One step at a time”. The tedious exercises, the emotional breakdowns, there was simply no rushing the process. Follow the therapists’ instructions, my personal GPS.
In my frustration, I would try to find a shortcut and argue against their reasoning. Surely, I could figure out a faster route, a quicker estimated time of arrival back to normalcy. My mistakes, detours, and wrong turns left me totally lost and overwhelmed.
Time to recalculate. Acknowledge that “I am here”, not somewhere six months in the future. Accepting my progress and not comparing myself to someone else on the same journey was essential to my well-being. They are following their route; mine will be different.
We’re all tempted to take that off ramp back to yesterday, where everything felt familiar before our brains changed. We watch others speeding through life with no challenges, wishing we too could be in the fast lane.
There’s a phrase I’m hearing a lot of these days: “You be you”. Or another favourite: “stay in your own lane”. Both help me to stay focused and mindful.
This coming weekend I will be on the road again. Many of you will be making plans to travel as well over the summer. One thing is for certain: You will arrive at your destination, but right now, YOU ARE HERE.
