Spontaneous Tuesday!
On a gloomy Tuesday afternoon, during a ‘Working From Home’ break, I popped online and 'spontaneously' booked an overnight stay on the Scottish Island of Arran. Arran sits a 50 minute ferry ride across from the seaside town of Ardrossan, on the west coast of the Scottish mainland.
It wasn’t 100% spontaneous , hence the inverted commas. I am not that free flowing. Months before I pencilled in my diary ‘hike GoatFell’, the highest point on the island, but had done nothing about it.
Months ago I looked ahead into May and saw a free weekend in my calendar, and knew a trip to the tourist friendly island of Arran was a possibility. Months before I must have been feeling like an adventure seeker. We were now in May, and I would merely glance at the words in my phone calendar in the hope someone would plan the adventure for me.
I did that thing where I would glance at my calendar and look away – taking n action towards planning a trip to the popular island just off the west coast of Scotland. That Tuesday I realised the Goatfell hike was pencilled in for the upcoming Saturday, precisely four days away. I seemed to procrastinate a little, half taking action, half creating hurdles. I sat checking the weather, ferry times, island transport links, and limited accommodation to mutter "Am I going to Arran?".
It all felt a bit last minute, and a bit of a hassle. I was looking for obstacles, inconveniences - reasons not to visit. Why? Because there is a voice that lives in my head where I want to take the path of least resistance. You could say the voice represents the sloth, or lazy, version of me.
When I looked ahead to the weekend and thought ‘what would I do with a free weekend if I don’t visit Arran?’ – the response from my sloth seemed compelling – an idea of being cosy on the couch reading my book sprang to mind. I challenged this, as I know for a fact, that although I adore being cosy on the couch with a book, I also know that I would be restless after reading one chapter, and would gaze out my window dreaming of an adventure, on an island, in Scotland.
Well, what if my dream could become my reality.
Then it happened – I decided I had heard enough from my sloth, with the ‘this seems a hassle’ narrative playing on repeat. Thankfully, the adventure seeker in me stepped up and took control of the situation.
I had a wee chat with myself and dared myself to ponder on what a perfect overnight stay would look like in Arran. And guess what, it included reading my book on the train to the ferry port, on the ferry and at night-time in my hotel. The book reading possibilities were endless in my visualised future. Talk about a win win.
The visualised perfect weekend was so convincing, the next thingi know I had booked the only room left on the island and, as you can say, the rest is history.
It was far from the dreamy, effortless overnight stay though, in fact, it had its moment. But such is life. A rollercoaster with highs and lows, ups and downs, ebbs and flows. We are little creatures who want life to be perfect – hassle-free, blue skies and on-time departures. The minute we spot a cloud, a slight delay or some sort of perceived inconvenience we are filled with feelings of disappointment, as if life has let us down. The reality is it has only let us down, when compared with our massively unrealistic expectations from life.
I know from travelling to 91 countries and nurturing a flexible mindset, we can create a flexible approach to life. Where we simply shrug off any perceived hassle and flow with any obstacles presented to us. We can suddenly, where necessary, deal with uncertainty, chaos and stormy skies. We look at it head-on and tackle the situation. And the ending is sometimes even better than we once perceived, as we experienced an adventure.
In the end, I would say I had the most amazing 24 hours. This is how my weekend developed, like a true adventure.
From cancelled trains on arrival at the train station. To discover a new train route involving jumping into an eight-seater taxi with seven random people to travel from a town, not the harbour port.
Hiking GoatFell as a trail run was happening around me, in the wildest weather with zero views from the summit due to the low lying clouds. Every part of my body was soaking wet with the relentless weather which then turned into the most glorious blue sky day.
To the best overnight stay at the cutest guesthouse, where I felt grateful for a warm shower and fluffy towels to wash away the aftermath of the sweaty, wet hike.
Pre-dinner beach walks under the glow of the early evening clear skies, taking in the changing landscape.
Before I experienced a sugar high from the homemade rhubarb infused crème brulee while sitting at a ‘table for one’ in the middle of the guesthouse restaurant – surrounded by eager locals and other guests, all chattering away, creating a real community vibe.
The early morning wake up to read my book – you know that feeling when you realise you are on the final chapter. To the morning run by the sea, followed by the heartiest breakfast looking out to the water.
To finish my visit by experiencing the insane views from the #323/#324 bus. Before jumping on the lunchtime ferry to arrive back into the port town to more cancelled trains, with the new found knowledge that a taxi to the next town allows you to connect back with the train system.
Arran showed it's always worth the perceived hassle! The hassle of cancelled trains allowed me to share some ‘where are you off to’ chat with a group of people I would normally not even notice on my journey, let alone chat to. The blanket of grey clouds at the summit a reminder it isn’t about the destination, but the journey. And the journey up and back was flooded with epic moments of sheer natural beauty. The rain didn’t let up, where each drop seemed to reach every part of my body, making me surrender to the experience since, spoiler, there is nothing you can do – so let go of any resistance and know that it will pass. And it did. It made the cup of tea and warm shower feel even cosier.
My tip to you - be spontaneous on a Tuesday, or any day in fact. This is my new life hack. Now known as Spontaneous Tuesday. It's worth it. I know, that is what Arran taught me. The perceived hassle that floods our minds are the reasons we should leap off our couch and book up an adventure. To show the sloth version of us, that most true adventures are filled with highs and lows. Ebbs and Flows. Rough moments, wrapped in joy. Ready for us to experience it all.
That is the duality of life. Every aspect of life is created from a balance of opposite and competing powers, which are complementary. So, during a mundane period in your life, seize life and shake it up.