Saturday, May 26, 2007

Finally clean socks.

To the office of the lost luggage again at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Holland.
It is seven days now without the suitcase.

This time the office is empty except for two male employees.

Sitting down in front of a computer one of them starts a long search.
A very long search.

This offers an opportunity to reflect on the whole situation.
And soon it is being realized that this whole situation of the missing suitcase has two sides.
Either all the elements of the situation get together and make war with the owner of the suitcase.
Or the owner of the suitcase dominates the whole situation and steers it in the right direction.
It is decided that the elements of the situation should not be in control and an effort will be made to get the upper hand oneself.

The man of the office reports on what he has discovered in the computer.
The only thing he sees is that the suitcase has been flown from Los Angeles to Los Cabos.
That’s it.
Since then, no trace.

The man of the office is quietly informed that two other sources have claimed that the suitcase has been flown by British Airways to London where it has been for several days.

A new long and meticulous search in the computer offering the opportunity to deepen the newly discovered position of being the one in charge of the whole situation.
Like a meditation.
Reaching a deeper level of harmony and stillness.

Again the man of the office finds nothing and inside the owner of the missing suitcase this wave like a tsunami starts to form.
The suitcase has been missing for 7 days now.
The website of British Airways where lost luggage can be traced says each time that no file on this case exist.
The telephone of the office of lost luggage is never answered.
Visits to the office costing half a day of time result in witnessing how the situation becomes more complex and hopeless.
The tsunami consists of emotions of anger and rage and frustration wishing to be expressed.
To shout at the man of the office.
To yell at the computer giving no good answers.
To throw the furniture through the windows.
To burn the whole airport down.

But having come to the realization that it is not the elements in control of the situation but the owner of the suitcase himself, the tsunami of anger comes and the tsunami of anger goes.
Like the tide of the sea rising and going down again.
It flows in and it flows out.

This makes it possible to remain totally relaxed and continue to communicate with the man of the office in a quiet and composed way.
This influences the man of the office positively.
He is totally puzzled about the missing suitcase and cannot understand why he can’t trace it in the system.
But he hears calming words of the owner who is neither upset nor angry.

Next, the man of the office gets an idea.
Why not check in the luggage room?
Where all the suitcases are kept which have arrived?
A positive and interesting idea of the man of the office and it is believed he was able to have that idea because the elements of the situation are not in control anymore but instead the owner of the suitcase.

In the luggage room quickly the missing suitcase was spotted and it made both men happy.
The man of the office because his idea of checking the luggage room resulted in finding the missing suitcase.
And the owner happy because this concept of becoming in control of the situation had worked and finally clean socks were available.

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