What I learned from long car journeys as a child that became an important metaphor for life
I was fortunate as a child, in that my family had a holiday home in the south of France, which we went to frequently to get away from the UK for a bit of sunshine. Those times have created some great memories of eating pain au chocolat on the beach, and sand not agreeing with me.
To get to our holiday home – static caravan – we went by car and would cross the channel by ferry boat or hovercraft (the hovercraft was so much fun, a real adventure to a kid). The drive from the dock to our caravan in France was long and sometimes we’d have an overnight stop at a hotel, but that’s not the thing that stands out most from the journey to me; nor is it the fish soup, or getting a kick out of ordering hot chocolate in French – Je veux du chocolat chaud s’il vous plait.
What always fascinated me as a young boy, still discovering about the world was when Dad had to stop and throw money in a basket to continue the journey. It seemed quite a strange thing to do, why was he throwing money in a little basket to get a barrier to lift; sometimes at home you put money into a machine to get out of the car park, but this puerile act of lobbing loose change out of the car window fascinated my young mind.
Becoming aware that these were tolls you had to pay to use the road and continue your journey, it soon made sense, but surely, they could come up with something better then hurling coins into a basket?
Reflecting back on those long journey’s to the South of France the toll roads are a good metaphor for our own life’s journey. You can only go so far down your path before there is a price to pay to continue to the next stage of the journey.
The price might be having to learn a new skill to get the job you really want, or even the breakup of a relationship to create way for a better one. The price isn’t always money-based, and you may find it hard to let go of things in order to move on and create space for what’s to come, and that creates what we aptly know as stress.
There is always a toll to pay to get to where you what to go from where you are now, but sometimes we refuse to pay the price and this metaphysical barrier holds us back from moving forwards in life.
If you are currently feeling lost or stuck in life, or just want help to get to the next level on your life's journey, coaching could help you move beyond the barriers that are blocking you from getting the fulfilment you deserve to be getting from life.
Contact me for a no-fee session to find out exactly how I can help you, and what your options are going forwards.
