Feeling moved whilst on the move

Even having made the journey many times, and several times in recent years, for some reason the flight time between London and Orlando surprises me every time the Pilot announces it.  I'm not built to sit still for nine and a half hours.  Especially not in a central seat, inbetween two passengers both slightly larger than the BMI recommends.

It is a long journey.  Not long when compared to the West coast.  Or Asia.  But when I flew to Hong Kong I had a two legged journey, stopping in Doha where I could at least stretch my legs, even if the terminal which was distinctly mid reconstruction did not prove terribly exciting. 

It seemed even longer as we had turbulence to contend with.  The flight path across the Atlantic, and then down to Florida is notorious for jet streams.  And we seemed to hit several.  The bumpy bits were good preparation for those making it across the pond to meet Mickey for the first time, perhaps.  I was grateful for the in-flight entertainment, once the crew had re-booted the system which was plagued with problems whilst we remained on the ground, necessitating a hands-on safety demonstration, and which took off with us, meaning we could not access the TV, movies, or radio for some 45 minutes on leaving LGW.

As London slept in the early hours of New Year's Day, I was on board a 777 headed for the sunshine state.  (The weather on arrival in Orlando did not disappoint, with the temperature outside the airport in the late afternoon still in the mid 70s, described by an acclimatised local as sunny 'without being hot'.)

Hope Springs drew my attention for more than one reason.  I adore Meryl Streep.  And I have a passion for working with couples.  So, a film about a couple in their fifties whose marriage feels empty now the kids have left home, who decide to give intensive couple therapy a go, appealed from the off.  It didn't disappoint, and highlighted my experience of working with more than one client in the room - the reward is in the challenge. 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was one of those films that came and went without me making it to the screen on time.  I see the trailer, make a mental note and then miss it when it comes out on General Release, only to kick myself when I notice the poster on the underground a week or two later.  Emma Watson is a superb actress, and was well cast to play Sam in this delightful coming of age film which was beautiful to watch and intensely moving.

What really stood out was the poignant line, "we accept the love we think we deserve".  These few words encapsulate something I know today to be a painful truth that very often brings people into therapy.  It is a deceptively simple sounding conundrum that can take a lot of hard work and courage to fathom.   

The next came in the reminder that whilst we don't have control over where we came from, we can take charge of where we go next...  "I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there."

I love watching movies with lines that stand out like that...  Particularly when it's truly a case of nowhere to go, nothing to do - airplane flights are great opportunities for simply sitting and being.