My flight was due to leave today, I didn't even think to check the airline's website and went to Heathrow thinking that if I willed it to take off, it would. After all, I really need to be home for the holidays! I ignored all the signs, the 1st train to Heathrow was canceled just after I got to Paddington Station but I found a Heathrow Express service that got me there even faster.
Unfortunately, when I got to Heathrow instead of being greeted by busy crowds, what I saw were hundreds of travelers camped out in aluminum foil to keep them warm. The trash hadn't been taken out and you could see candy wrappers and empty coffee cups everywhere. Not to mention a 40 person queu to buy a cup of coffee. It took me nearly an hour to find an airline exec who could give me a link to visit online. Only to find out that there are "no options available".
So two hours and later I was back in London, dialing Delta's Customer Care Center over a plate of spaghetti carbonara. I left the damn thing on hold in my pocket for 2 hours before hanging up. I caught the next bus home, lugged my suitcase up 3 flights of stairs and collapsed on my bed. About an hour later I made up my mind to go for a walk in Kensington, didn't want to let the day be a complete waste and I need my dose of sunshine in the winter. My mood finally started to change for the better, when I was outside on the streets again, I had forgotten how lovely London looks in the snow. I even got to thinking how lucky I am to be living in such a wonderful city. It's funny, people always tell me that London is black and gloomy. The sun does set very early in the winter, but as one of my guides pointed out, you can only see light in the dark. Think about a stadium illuminated by cellphones, you wouldn't be able to see a thing if the concert was held in broad daylight.
The same goes for my ability to see light, and I don't mean the kind that comes from the sun. A few weeks ago I was walking down Kensington Church Street after work, it was pitch black and even though there weren't any stars I could see and feel a silvery white light all around me. It illuminated the street and raised the city's vibration. One of the books I'm reading talks about how waves of light are flooding our universe. Today I saw that light in London, I was actually lucky to have had the day to myself, just walking around and absorbing the city. I'm usually so preocupied with work, the commute, always rushing from one place to the next. For once I got my head out of the clouds and was present in the moment, noticing the bricks on the wall, slushing through ice water in my new rain boots and soaking in everything around me. Flight or no flight, it turned out to be a pretty good day.
