Waiting = Zen

As I type this email, on 28 June 2021, my wife Sana and I are waiting…

Waiting for her visa to get approved.

Actually, just an update on when the application has left the National Visa Center in Vermont and we have her interview scheduled (tentatively due to the pandemic but something is better than nothing) would be most welcome.

‘Cuz we’ve got plans, Sana and me.

And none of them involve living in a tiny apartment on the 23rd floor of a building, surrounded by foreigners (how American of me) speaking a foreign tongue, crying babies, barking dogs… Walking to and from a tiny office that six months ago was a storage shed, wearing a face mask outside in 104 degree heat. Having my temperature checked anytime I enter my apartment building, go to the mall; getting emails that the consulate is closed indefinitely so no visa interviews are going to take place any time soon.

And the U.S. government just announced they’re not allowing dogs from Vietnam into the country – so little 8 lb. Cinnamon – who is groomed by the Minister of Grooming and Hygiene in her home country – can’t go to the U.S. with us when we do actually leave.

My son is in Virginia, I haven’t seen him in going on 6 months, and even a short trip to visit is near impossible because even if I’m allowed entry back into Vietnam, I’m required to pay ~$2500 for a 21-day quarantine.

Because Covid.

It’s all enough to make a bishop throw a rock through a stained-glass window.

But here we are.

Our plans are on hold, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

It’s kind of freeing, that last phrase: “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Meaning we’ve done all we can to address our situation. If there was something we could do to help our cause, it would have been done last week.

Now, due to circumstances outside our control, we wait.

So how do you respond? It is in the waiting that we find real peace.

You become grateful for the tiny apartment, which is just the right size for two people and an 8-lb. dog BTW.

Grateful for the people who cleared out their storage space and allowed me to use it as an office – which cleaned up nicely, and we’ve developed a good relationship with the owners of the building where the office is. (Plus, it gives me a place to watch Breaking Bad when Sana would rather watch Say Yes to the Dress.)

Grateful that I can do my work, serve our clients from anywhere in the world with a solid internet connection.

I suppose you become aware of your surroundings, your own limitations.

Our ego tells us we’re invincible, that everything needs to happen on our timetable. Sure, tell that to anyone who’s ever waited for their tax refund check, for their visa interview to be scheduled, etc.

We need the ego. Nothing of any substance would happen in our lives with out it. But it needs to be kept in check.

Nothing like waiting on things beyond our control to do just that.

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