Family Vacation Part 1 (Selamat Berlibur!)

I am in Jakarta when I type this entry. I have to say, the vacation didn't start quite well. Yesterday morning when I arrived at the airport, I was offloaded because the flight was overbooked. As a result, my family and I have to wait for 4 hours for the next flight. Then, the flight was delayed because of late arrival of the previous flight. I have to wait for another 1 hour before we departed to Jakarta. When I arrived, I found out that I lost my handphone. I could've left it either in the plane or at the waiting lounge prior to departure. When I checked-in at the hotel, I found out that the room provided to me did not come with the internet connection.

The thing is, apart of all the thing that happened, I was indeed very satisfied. Not for what has happened but more of how I have reacted to all this. Instead of throwing tantrums and making scenes out of all these (which I always have the tendency to do it), I have risen above them all and reacted using my head and not my emotions.

Starting with the incident at the airport, instead of uttering expletives at the officer at the counter, I managed to remain calm and talk rationally to the guys. And you know what, I was suddenly able to calm myself further. I was overwhelmed with this tingling sensation arising from the effect of being nice to people. I can see how appreciative the officers to me and because of that, I was offered free coupons for my breakfast and lunch (usually, one is entitled for one meal vouchers only). Then during internet incidence, I negotiated my way with the hotel officers and guess what, I was given free internet instead. As for my handphone incidence, I managed to email my assistant at the office and she managed to do the necessary for me. In the end, I end up having a very good time with my family.

One thing I learnt that I would not be able to do all this had I did not do the most IMPORTANT thing when adversity occurred....the ability to let things go. Many a times the main cause for our anger, anguish and disappointment is the fact that we are too hung up on what HAS happened rather than concentrating to ensure things happen the way we wanted it. The rule is simple, negativity breeds negativity whilst positivity neutralised negativity and makes things back to equilibrium. I know this may sound a bit too philosophical but could you imagine what would have happened if I reacted differently to all the above situations. I could have ended up having the worst family vacation ever. At the moment, my family and I are having good times doing shopping and sightseeing in Jakarta.

I guess GOD has blessed me with true happiness.

Alhamdulillah...