 | Travelling with my electric vehicle has offered me a lesson in expectations. I was reminded of this when watching a video on simple printmaking. In printmaking you have a rough idea of what you want the print to look like but the actual outcome is always a surprise. |
This is because there are so many elements coming together on the piece of paper to produce that print: the materials used, and all their different properties, the air temperature, the way the materials are laid and handled, the amount of pressure used to produce the lines, the way the print is lifted off the prepared plate, to name a few.
The first experience travelling in my electric car was stressful as I meticulously planned the sequence of charging it to cover the 150 miles of the journey and tried to predict the various outcomes that may present themselves. Contrast this with my second foray on the same journey a year later, with little planning and my focus this time was to just go with the adventure and see where it takes us. So, as with the print-making, I was allowing the process to unfold.
No expectation of outcomes = plenty of surprises = enjoyment instead of stress.
Travel itself is like a process where many elements come together. For my first long journey with my electric car, I did a lot of research before I set out, listing and estimating mileage from point A to point B to point C. I found out that there was very little opportunity to charge the car in the area where I would be staying, and to cover that eventuality I decided I would fill up the car in the nearest town before I set out for my lodgings for the night. It is difficult to estimate how long a full charge will last because it depends on the outside temperature, the terrain you travel (miles can be added if you are cruising downhill, or disappear quickly if you are going uphill or cruising at speed).
The infrastructure for charging services in this country are ad hoc and unregulated. Some of them need apps on your phone to use them, all had different payment methods. Some are very slow to charge so you could be waiting for an hour or three, and some take only 20 minutes. I was to find out on this first journey that not all chargers will work with any car. My first planned stop with a fast charger was just this scenario. I was directed to a charger nearby which took ninety minutes to top up the miles. At my planned visit to the nearest town, both available chargers were in use.
I spent every spare minute during that weekend working out where I could charge the car to get me home, feeling stressed and dreading the journey itself. Nothing went to plan and my journey home took me sixteen hours altogether, with planned and unplanned stops. It would have taken four hours maximum with a petrol car. I promised myself I would never undertake such a journey again and would just use the car around the city where I lived, which it is ideal for.
A year later an opportunity for a very enriching weekend in the same area was offered to me and I looked at trains for the journey. The UK at this point in time in June 2022 was in a whirlpool of unrest and unsettlement, some of that due to the recent pandemic and its effects on people, to world affairs and some due to our government. Train strikes were also threatened for the period I would be travelling and a friend attending the same weekend asked me if we could travel together.
I searched for accommodation and a flat in the middle of the town presented itself as the first option. I booked it without hesitation because it looked fine, and there might be a chance I could use the charger in the town when and if I needed to, and because time to search further was lacking. As the days passed, it was confirmed that the trains would not be running, and another friend asked to travel with us. Luckily there were three beds in the lodgings I’d booked so this was perfect. Notice the elements that were coming together for us to make this weekend so memorable.
For this journey I had some experience to inform me from last year’s adventure, the main one being that it is less stressful to ensure I have as much as fifty or so miles on the range of the car before I charged it. For this journey too, my outlook on life was different. I had surrendered much more into trusting my Soul and my body to guide me in my daily activity, and had experienced the wonder of how I could receive this guidance which was often meticulous down to the mundane-ness of everyday detail: for example I can set out for work in the morning later than I would have liked, resisting the urge to hurry, or to plan a quicker route, keeping in the present moment and confident that I am in Universal flow, and I usually arrive on time.
There is a lot of fun in not planning and in receiving the outcome which is presented to us, without the expectation of being on time. So, for the coming journey, I was sure that if I kept being aware and present in my body I felt that we would cope with any outcome that presented itself on the weekend adventure.
The three of us set off early in the morning the day before we needed to arrive, leaving plenty of time to drive the miles. I did consult an app which is supposed to be reliable, but the first charger on our journey did not exist! We travelled to the next nearest, which was in a supermarket car park. We had a break for our lunch, and were ready to set off again almost fully charged.
When we got to our accommodation its location was great, but the space itself not so. However, this scenario presented us all with reflections and learning for our individual inner journeys. I enjoyed so much being with my friends, who are like family to me, and I consciously treasured every moment. There were many more friends to meet and work with during the weekend. We had come together for a common purpose and the alchemy of that was magnificent. Extended family all together.
Similarly, to our outward journey our return home had its difficulties, and I noted that the being ‘difficult’ felt worse when we had expectations of what we wanted to happen, and were disappointed. I felt stress-free throughout, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.
Less planning and going with whatever was presented to us in the moment was very freeing.
The number of people we met who were helpful and generous with their support along the way at the different charging points was beautiful, a great way to meet new people!
So, the process of preparation for a journey and the actual journey are very much experiential, both practically and in the way we approach the experience. Life should not be hard work! We are ‘set up’ to expect that it should be, but why go along with that plan when we can be free to experience being in the flow of the process and enjoy what it offers us? I have to call out the awful system of charging in this country. System? Forget that word. More like a sequence of ‘pot luck’ and roll your dice and take your chance. Customer service does not figure.
However, without placing emphasis on negotiating a system that can be difficult and stressful, an electric vehicle journey can be a fun adventure, instead of a stressful process. Just like in printmaking, when we let go of expectations, we can enjoy whatever comes to us and know that in the end we will arrive home.
Christina H., UK
For further reading you may also enjoy:
The Plan or 'My' Plan
The first experience travelling in my electric car was stressful as I meticulously planned the sequence of charging it to cover the 150 miles of the journey and tried to predict the various outcomes that may present themselves. Contrast this with my second foray on the same journey a year later, with little planning and my focus this time was to just go with the adventure and see where it takes us. So, as with the print-making, I was allowing the process to unfold.
No expectation of outcomes = plenty of surprises = enjoyment instead of stress.
Travel itself is like a process where many elements come together. For my first long journey with my electric car, I did a lot of research before I set out, listing and estimating mileage from point A to point B to point C. I found out that there was very little opportunity to charge the car in the area where I would be staying, and to cover that eventuality I decided I would fill up the car in the nearest town before I set out for my lodgings for the night. It is difficult to estimate how long a full charge will last because it depends on the outside temperature, the terrain you travel (miles can be added if you are cruising downhill, or disappear quickly if you are going uphill or cruising at speed).
The infrastructure for charging services in this country are ad hoc and unregulated. Some of them need apps on your phone to use them, all had different payment methods. Some are very slow to charge so you could be waiting for an hour or three, and some take only 20 minutes. I was to find out on this first journey that not all chargers will work with any car. My first planned stop with a fast charger was just this scenario. I was directed to a charger nearby which took ninety minutes to top up the miles. At my planned visit to the nearest town, both available chargers were in use.
I spent every spare minute during that weekend working out where I could charge the car to get me home, feeling stressed and dreading the journey itself. Nothing went to plan and my journey home took me sixteen hours altogether, with planned and unplanned stops. It would have taken four hours maximum with a petrol car. I promised myself I would never undertake such a journey again and would just use the car around the city where I lived, which it is ideal for.
A year later an opportunity for a very enriching weekend in the same area was offered to me and I looked at trains for the journey. The UK at this point in time in June 2022 was in a whirlpool of unrest and unsettlement, some of that due to the recent pandemic and its effects on people, to world affairs and some due to our government. Train strikes were also threatened for the period I would be travelling and a friend attending the same weekend asked me if we could travel together.
I searched for accommodation and a flat in the middle of the town presented itself as the first option. I booked it without hesitation because it looked fine, and there might be a chance I could use the charger in the town when and if I needed to, and because time to search further was lacking. As the days passed, it was confirmed that the trains would not be running, and another friend asked to travel with us. Luckily there were three beds in the lodgings I’d booked so this was perfect. Notice the elements that were coming together for us to make this weekend so memorable.
For this journey I had some experience to inform me from last year’s adventure, the main one being that it is less stressful to ensure I have as much as fifty or so miles on the range of the car before I charged it. For this journey too, my outlook on life was different. I had surrendered much more into trusting my Soul and my body to guide me in my daily activity, and had experienced the wonder of how I could receive this guidance which was often meticulous down to the mundane-ness of everyday detail: for example I can set out for work in the morning later than I would have liked, resisting the urge to hurry, or to plan a quicker route, keeping in the present moment and confident that I am in Universal flow, and I usually arrive on time.
There is a lot of fun in not planning and in receiving the outcome which is presented to us, without the expectation of being on time. So, for the coming journey, I was sure that if I kept being aware and present in my body I felt that we would cope with any outcome that presented itself on the weekend adventure.
The three of us set off early in the morning the day before we needed to arrive, leaving plenty of time to drive the miles. I did consult an app which is supposed to be reliable, but the first charger on our journey did not exist! We travelled to the next nearest, which was in a supermarket car park. We had a break for our lunch, and were ready to set off again almost fully charged.
When we got to our accommodation its location was great, but the space itself not so. However, this scenario presented us all with reflections and learning for our individual inner journeys. I enjoyed so much being with my friends, who are like family to me, and I consciously treasured every moment. There were many more friends to meet and work with during the weekend. We had come together for a common purpose and the alchemy of that was magnificent. Extended family all together.
Similarly, to our outward journey our return home had its difficulties, and I noted that the being ‘difficult’ felt worse when we had expectations of what we wanted to happen, and were disappointed. I felt stress-free throughout, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.
Less planning and going with whatever was presented to us in the moment was very freeing.
The number of people we met who were helpful and generous with their support along the way at the different charging points was beautiful, a great way to meet new people!
So, the process of preparation for a journey and the actual journey are very much experiential, both practically and in the way we approach the experience. Life should not be hard work! We are ‘set up’ to expect that it should be, but why go along with that plan when we can be free to experience being in the flow of the process and enjoy what it offers us? I have to call out the awful system of charging in this country. System? Forget that word. More like a sequence of ‘pot luck’ and roll your dice and take your chance. Customer service does not figure.
However, without placing emphasis on negotiating a system that can be difficult and stressful, an electric vehicle journey can be a fun adventure, instead of a stressful process. Just like in printmaking, when we let go of expectations, we can enjoy whatever comes to us and know that in the end we will arrive home.
Christina H., UK
For further reading you may also enjoy:
The Plan or 'My' Plan