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In The Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity
- 26 jun 2025
- 2 Min. de lectura
Actualizado: hace 18 horas
I guess this was Albert Einstein’s Buddhist way of saying that you must see change as a good thing.
Impermanence is, in Buddhist teachings, an inherent and constant aspect of existence. I mean, think about it, the only thing that we can always count on is that everything and everyone around us changes. And that is probably one of the hardest things to embrace: genuinely letting go of what we know and love, and receiving what is coming with open arms.
That is how we left Hawai’i and moved to Virginia, due to a big change in our lives. To be more specific, it was because my daughter got very sick and she needed better care. Sadly, Doctors were not figuring out what had happened to her, so we packed our bags, sold all our stuff (except the car), and left behind 6 years of our lives.
Of course, it was a huge culture shock. Not because we hadn’t been to the mainland before, it was because the aloha was long gone. After arriving, even Latinos who are usually friendly and fun felt different, but at least we had found great jobs. I was the top SEO specialist for a French company, and Val was working for the incredible Ritz-Carlton in none other than Pentagon City! He had always worked for the best hotel chains, which eventually became one of the reasons why I almost lost my mind after we arrived in Valencia (the job offer is very low).
Three months into it, I was all in trying to establish treatment options in different states for Coletta, including Washington D.C., Maryland, and North Carolina, but I was also worried for Val since we had agreed that it was going to be his last stop before moving to Spain. I was staying in the USA and continued to care for my daughter, and Val would go and fly straight into the Spanish sunset, zipping vino! Again, I was wrong about one thing (not all of it). We did know that by embracing change and leaving Hawai’i, rather than resisting it, things were going to improve. We didn’t know why or how, but staying optimistic has been a great trait in our family.
See? When things get rough, it’s impossible to see that there is a chance to do something better, but we just need to stay present and wait. In all fairness, it took me at least 5 years to learn to do this consistently.
