Faith

Quite a few years ago, I signed up for a ten-day continuing education class being held at a place called Rio Caliente in Mexico. It was a class I’d been wanting to take and I was super excited because not only would I get a bunch of continuing education credits but would be spending ten days at a retreat center about thirty miles outside of Guadalajara. These days II speak a little Spanish but at that time I didn’t. I was by myself and pretty nervous when I left the airport in my hometown. I stayed that way until I Ianded at the airport in Guadalajara. Then I became mildly terrified. No matter what people insist, not everyone speaks English in Mexico. Or in any other country, for that matter. A cab had to be arranged inside the airport and I managed to do that and set up the hour’s drive to Rio Caliente. My assigned driver was a burly looking guy in his 30’s. He spoke no English. We pulled into heavy traffic and started off, with me holding tightly onto my belongings in the back seat. After a while we pulled over on a busy road so he could chat with a young woman along the side of the highway. Maybe he needs more directions, I thought. Maybe it’s his girlfriend or wife. The dark side of my brain said how dumb I was to be in this situation and that this was some sort of set up. Of course I was being ridiculously paranoid and everything turned out fine. After that I decided to try to think of things to keep from spiraling into a dark place like that. Sometime later I happened to re-watch the movie “Manhattan”. At the end, Mariel Hemingway says to Woody Allen, “You have to have a little faith in people.” That line is so appropriate in so many ways and in so many different situations. I’m going to use it. You have to have a little faith in people.

Photo courtesy Juncala at Pixabay.com