Small Moves

"Small moves, Ellie, small moves..." ~ "Contact" movie

After another wonderful day at the Portland Body Mind Spirit Expo, I found myself facing a challenge.

Now this may not be a challenge for everyone - in fact it may even seem trivial, but I have to admit that I am not a confident, perfectly straight backer of vehicles.  I have known this shortcoming for a while, and usually I need at least some space to work with, as I tend to drift to one side or the other.  I was tired too, even though I had another great day speaking and networking at the Expo.

And to be honest, challenges can be even more intense when it's something a bit embarrassing, something it seems everyone knows how to do except us.  We can judge ourselves quite harshly for the most trivial of things.  Or are they so trivial, really?

After giving a seminar about The Frontier Beyond Fear a day earlier, I was facing one of mine, a parking challenge downtown, surprising since I wasn't even in a parallel parking space...

"Why now?"

My car is on the right.  And yes, only The Thin Man could get in the driver's door... ;-)

The "parking angel" had actually been with me earlier.  I was running late, and there was apparently another very large event at the Convention Center.  I swore I found the very last spot in the entire lot, and I carefully positioned myself perfectly in the center (forward is not a problem for me).  I was told the lot closed down with "Full" signs soon after I came in, with many also having trouble finding on-street parking nearby.

With no angel readily visible now to help, I had two choices.  I could wait until the driver of the vehicle on the left arrived, but quite honestly, I really wasn't sure I wanted to meet this person or place my trust in their backing skills (forward was not so promising) - not to mention I was tired and hungry...and there was no telling when that person would actually make an appearance.

Or I could just take a deep breath and...place my trust in myself (with angelic guidance welcome...).

I was a math major once.  Why is it real-world geometrical situations are sometimes daunting to me?  It's as if I just don't fit in this 3D world at all, though multidimensional maneuvering could have been most useful in this situation.  It's kind of hard to see, but note that the errant oversized vehicle was slanted towards me.  Going out perfectly straight would actually not do at all, and I swore I had maybe 3 inches in the middle and less by the mirror.

"Which way do I turn the wheel?"

I wrote to my significant other seeking advice...

"Small turns" was the response.  It reminded me of the movie "Contact"..."Small moves, Ellie, small moves..." (I do love that movie...)  And "contact" was indeed what I was attempting to avoid!

To make a long story short, I made it out unscathed.  What might have seemed to be a breeze to some was definitely a challenge for me, but when I took it very, very slowly, and gave myself a few tries to get better positioned, it wasn't so bad after all.  In fact, it really was quite easy in retrospect.  I just had to take it very slow.

Sometimes in life we encounter things that frighten us, no matter how seemingly trivial.  And sometimes the slow and mindful solution is actually the best.

At some level, I do believe this situation was a co-creation, but not necessarily of the instantly manifested nightmare variety so many seem to believe in.  It was a co-creation to help me learn and grow.

In the end, I proved to myself I actually can precisely direct my vehicle in reverse when I breathe and set my mind to it.

Who knows what might be next...maybe parallel parking?