Waiting For The Fog to Clear

Last week I was in Paramaribo, Suriname at a regional conference of psychologists, and on my way home, our plane was stranded by thick, unwavering fog. We boarded the plane, found our seats and were updated hourly on the status of our fog, flights and estimated new departure and arrival times. Three hours later, we took off bound for Piarco International Airport. As we waited, people became antsy, some stood and paced and others fell fitfully to sleep (like me). I heard someone behind me ask why we couldn't just fly through it, and the flight attendant responded that the Captain required a certain amount of visibility to take off safely. It was interesting to me how this safety precaution was a source of annoyance for everyone on board. Each hourly update of "Another hour, folks" was met with groans from the passengers. The general complaints "I have somewhere to be!""I'm going to miss my connection!" and "Who is going to compensate me for this delay!?"

Over the course of my week in Suriname, I found myself looking back at the last few years of my life. I saw so much personal fog clear that I had no choice but to be grateful for the times when I felt grounded on the tarmac, helplessly waiting for permission to fly. The interjections of the passengers sound very much like my own complaints while grounded - "I have somewhere (else) to be!" "I'm going to miss my connections (with others who aren't here)!" "Who is going to make (all this lost time) right with me?" It's interesting to me, because like all of us on that plane last Saturday, I can see the wisdom of being held for my own safety in retrospect.

1. What does it mean to be caught in a fog?
2. What does it mean to be protected?
3. What does it mean to know you were meant for more but seeing only less?
4. What does it mean to look into the lives of others and see what you hope to be?
5. What does it mean to move from having people around you that you don't notice to having a vibrant and lively support system?
6. What does it mean to truly believe in your purpose?

When talking of fog people often describe something that obscures and confuses a situation or someone's thought processes. It can also be used to describe a roadblock, or impassible space. There is not much talk on the benefits of fog, but this is a valuable part of the conversation. Fog has been said to be a picturesque addition to the landscape, and an important source of hydration. When thinking about the situations in life when we are caught, stranded, unable to see into the distance of our path, perhaps we should be thinking of fog like this. 

• Is there beauty in your current circumstance? 
• Are you parched, and needing hydration?

I think that we all get so busy doing things that we forget to look around for the good that is right there where we are. A man on the plane let me call Trinidad on his Surinamese phone because my phone didn't work. He didn't bat an eyelash before he offered me this kindness. In my years of being in a fog, I have gotten adult phase of life years with my parents, and it is a treasure. Today will be a short entry, as I think this is an area for you to come up with your own conclusions. I've asked several questions, which I hope you'll answer for yourself.