I left the sleepy city in a quick and intimate cab ride. It’s always interesting to exchange few details of your life with a stranger, passing empty streets, the sky still full of darkness.

I said a short goodbye to my mom, peeking through the door as I rolled my lugged to the elevator. We make these moments always quick, just in time for our mind not to think of the sad moment and the eyes to fill with tears. I’ve said goodbyes for 18 years now to her, and it never gets easier.

Every time we’re together, I make the conscious decision to hug her more and let things that bother me, wash over me. The longer I live the more I realize what matters is actually very simple. We don’t need exceptional activities, but quality time, talking or being in silence in each other presence, having coffee or getting groceries.

After all, I have the certainty that I made the right decision. I had to leave and follow where my heart needed to go. It turns out my place in the world was the United States and not Italy, I never felt wrong about it.

I know for a mom, the greatest display of love is letting a daughter free (especially for someone like my mom). Freedom is the highest form of love ever given. I am sure of that, too. I am loved.

Anyhow… what’s the title of this post about anyway?

I have been thinking so much about the concept of surrendering to what is, of letting go of control, of not interfering, not forcing things, of the concept of non action as a form of effortless action. I have been practicing relaxing and “sitting in the shade”, in trust, doing a lot less trying and a lot more just being (my last posts were about this). I have been tuning into my intuition more, allowing, observing rather than reacting, judging (I tried, at least).

At the same time, I occasionally get confused. The doubts seep in… When do I actually act? And in what way? How do I know? Because there is also the moment where I gotta move from BEING to DOING. How do I move closer to what I want without making the same old mistakes? How do I know my actions are aligned and moving in the direction of what I want? Is it clear to me, what I want?

So these thoughts got me to this analogy that brought some peace to my ever thinking mind. Here it goes:

You don’t have to fly the plane. You don’t need to know how to do that actually, to go somewhere. That’s where I want to practice sitting back in my seat, being taken places, enjoy the view, trust the turbulence will pass(!), relax (let go and let God sort of thing). I’m not a pilot here, I’m a passenger (If you’re a professional pilot you’ll need another analogy😂). At the same time though, the plane isn’t gonna take me nowhere UNLESS I do my part of: getting a ticket, setting up my alarm, take a cab to the airport, go through security, find my gate etc. That’s my part in it. You don’t just sit home and hope a plane will stop by your house. And a plane can symbolize anything: opportunities, jobs, love, health. You gotta do your part.

It’s important then to remember, we are creators of our lives and more specifically, co-creators along with the Universe (or Source, God, Higher Intelligence/Power). You don’t get things done on your own, you set things in motion – by how you think, feel and act (or not). The Universe assists you with whatever you hold your vision and intention toward to. Whatever is stronger and more dominant in you is being heard at all times: events, circumstances, people, opportunities are placed on your path according to that dominant mindset. The Universe is all inclusive also, so it doesn’t differentiate what you want from what you don’t want, it only pays attention to what you pay attention to (!). I’m not just regurgitating stuff I read in my own words, I do believe in this and get to experience it constantly. So the sitting back and the doing are both part of the equation, and in the sitting back I learn to listen to my intuition and act from there.

So you’ll get where you want to go or create what you want, if your actions are aligned to your vision (first thing first, have one). Same as you go to the right airport at the right time, finding the right gate and the right plane… the rest is surrender. You do your part and then let go. And sometimes you don’t need to know the right airport, airline, gate from the get go, answers will be given as you keep going, focusing on where you want to go and don’t get distracted.

These are my two cents for the day. Off to catching off another plane as we speak.