It’s all about Balance!
I was robbed recently on the Sitges train station platform. A scam that I have read about. Being pushed and shoved as we boarded the train in a crowd. I called out, “Why are you pushing?”. I did not realise that my purse was being taken from my bag exactly at that time. The pushing was a distraction. I had no clue until I arrived in Barcelona 1 hour later and reached for my purse to buy a metro ticket. Purse gone. Panic ensued. Checked my bank apps on my phone, which thankfully was still there. 800€ taken. Acting quickly to block the cards, 4 taken in total, along with my ID, driving license, personal photographs and receipts.
Just a few days earlier, I was practicing Spanish with my online tutor. As part of 10 sessions to improve speaking in tenses, past, present and future. To support the work our tutor provided articles for us to read including descriptions and questions of holiday destinations, experiences, cultures and behaviour.
I spoke so confidently of Sitges. How beautiful, how safe, how liberal, colourful, vibrant. A caring community, kind, open, with so many wonderful things to do. We also commented on the rising crime around the globe. The perceived intensity of the divide between financially rich and financially poor. The pressures that many experienced and are still, following that experience, and the absolute desperateness of others post pandemic. I commented on the need for compassion at this time for the journey that we are all on.
Dig deep to feel compassion and maintain a sense of balance
Now I really needed to dig deep to feel the compassion. The following week involved 3 visits to the police station, 4 visits to the bank, multiple emails and a very curt dismissal from the bank, refuting responsibility for all but 15€ of the 800€ taken, due to the thieves having somehow obtained my pin. It’s not determined how they got it. Unfortunately, I suggested that they may have seen it when I bought my ticket. For that comment, I am deemed responsible.
It’s safe to say, it was a horrible week and this is an ongoing situation and one that I am not backing down from. The point I’m making here with this is that this undoubtedly knocked me sideways. It impacted my sense of security. I had felt so safe and relaxed. Maybe too much so. I had let my guard down. I felt violated by the thief or thieves, as I’m sure this a group network operation. Very well practiced and executed. I then felt very disappointed and let down by the ‘powers that be’ to carry out their duties to protect and serve.
I was not protected and I was not served. I was subjected to routine procedure and routinely dismissed with a very inauthentic ‘kind regards’ from the bank. The Policia Local, although nice enough, apparently don’t have the funding to check the security footage of the station, or of any of the consecutive shops that the thieves then used my card in. As I boarded the train, my card was instantly used to purchase a rail ticket of 196.00€. I suggested to the police that they must be able to trace this. The officer informed me that they do not have the resources for that. I asked the bank to check the security cameras on the card machines. I am still waiting for their reply.
Reconciling the world imbalance from a position of privilege
We are so privileged to live and work here in Sitges. A beautiful coastline of colourful bays with a plethora of activities to suit all tastes. A scenic and pretty town, nestled between the wonderful energy of the mountains and the sea. A place that we know, we are very lucky to call home.
In the scheme of the world right now, post pandemic, life here is good! Yet around the world and still within each of us there is imbalance. We are all acutely aware of the disparity between people, wealth, poverty, hunger, excess, climate change, belief systems, animal cruelty, displaced people from many places, war, discomfort and an increasing gap between the financially rich and those struggling to survive. Considering this, how do we reconcile this balance?
There are so many places in the world in chaos, despair, poverty. Even here on the streets of beautiful and privileged Sitges, we see people homeless, beggars, thieves and lost souls. Some of those souls may appear to be well and healthy. However, many also have their own unspoken situations of loss, grief, despair that they mask day to day whilst continuing to play the game that society has us live in.
We don’t ever know a person’s real story until we connect and communicate. Still then, we may not know the full story. Everybody has their burdens to bare, their losses to grieve and their pains to acknowledge. I would suggest each and every person has something that they need to address within themselves.
Holistic practices are the way forward to be in balance
As a Holistic Practitioner and Energy Worker, I have honed my empathic capacity to tune in to the energy of the world and people around me. Also, sometimes to tune out! To acknowledge what is mine and comes from me and to recognise what belongs to others. We are essentially living in a soup of energy. This impacts us all daily. This melting pot of frequency and vibration is created through our thoughts, words, intentions, subconscious and actions. Everything has a ripple effect. We are all connected. We are all subject to the up and down of life.
2 weeks after being robbed, I walk on the street with a new awareness. For this I am grateful. It was a wake-up call to the bigger picture. I was, as many are, living in my own bubble. It felt like a safe place. In the main it still is. However, all around us the world is suffering. This is reflected in the behaviour of many. This impacts everyone. As a therapist and practitioner, I come into contact with all kinds of conditions related to stress, anxiety and various conditions of imbalance. They can be addressed. I ask myself, how?
Being in balance is the focus of all my work. Everything is about being in balance and the world most certainly needs some! During challenging times, how do we maintain it?
Self-responsibility and Equilibrium
If each of us is self-responsible for our own equilibrium, we, one-by-one, can create a world that reflects what is within us. Insecurity, anxiety, stress, pressure, lack of anything all stems from fear and fear comes basically from a lack of love and connection. I feel it is part of my soul mission to create spaces for this. To nurture a sense of balance, grow it, encourage it and share it.
I do feel empathy for the thieves. I also hope that they get caught so that they can begin their healing journey and realise that this is not the way.
Can we bring balance to the world? How much power do we collectively have? Do you feel safe within yourself? Do you experience stress, anxiety or any of the things I’ve mentioned above? Because here in Sitges, we have such a range of holistic services at our fingertips. A huge collective of healers, health and wellness practitioners, facilitators, coaches, alternative therapies, kindness, community and a lot of love.
We can be part of the solution and the solution includes everyone. It is not just for one section of society. It must be accessible to all. Some-how we can reach out to each other and connect more and more. Each difficult experience must be a way for us to dig even deeper and find the love that we need to turn this world around. There are so many unique ways that we can each do this, first and foremost for ourselves and then, when we feel strong, for each other. We have to find what suits us to be in balance then we can help others. It’s all about balance.
Lisa Life
Join us this year at EQUILIBRIUM FEST – Second Edition – Saturday 17th September at IAB – Institute of the Arts, Sitges, Barcelona. For more info and tickets visit www.equilibriumfest.com
(Article printed in Spain in English)