I just came back from a short trip to Barcelona, one of my favorite cities in Europe. Soaking up the sun, spending some time at the beach, strolling around the narrow alleys without a special destination … a perfect mix for one’s soul and heart.
Of course, where there are many tourists, thieves are not far. Out on the street I reminded myself to take care of my belongings and I thought how lucky I was to never have been tricked in Barcelona in all these years. There are many stories about pickpockets on La Rambla and other tourist hot spots. Well, I guess I kind of asked for it… As a matter of fact my mobile phone was stolen out of my handbag that night. I still cannot explain when or how this happened as I was super cautious. When I realized that it must have been stolen, I got really upset. No, I was pissed. And angry. Still in disbelieve I was cursing and yelling while locking the SIM card via an emergency hotline and changing passwords for all the apps I installed on my phone. Clearly, the pleasant evening was over.
On the next morning, I was still upset. But then I said to myself:
You can’t do anything about it. The phone is gone, there is no chance to get it back. You can let this ruin the whole trip and continue being angry about it. Or you can accept the fact and enjoy the rest of your time here.
I realized that I’ve already wasted too much time being upset about a fact I can’t change. Sure, being robbed sucks. But allowing it to drag you down sucks even more.
So I learned two things that day:
1. Being angry is ok, when you know when to stop.
2. Be really, really, really, aware of pickpockets…
Picture credits: Steve Webel | Creative Commons
