My son and I went to New York city to visit someone who rescued me and my sister when we were very young from a bad situation when my parents split up.

After a great visit, my son and I headed home on the train.

A 7 min train ride turned into an hour and ½ because the rail system shut down.

We still had another 1 hour and ½ train ride to get into New Jersey.

It was 10:30 pm when they let us know no trains were leaving from Penn Station.

I wasn’t sure what we were going to do, and I was concerned about my son.

I knew I’d be ok, but would he?

I asked someone and was directed to another subway called the Path.

We went there in the cold, but I couldn’t understand how it would get us to New Jersey, and I didn’t want to take the wrong train.

We walked back to Penn Station again and asked.  They redirected us back to the path.

My son who was getting tired kept saying “dad ask someone.”  But I wasn’t sure who to ask.

Finally, I took his advice, and a store clerk told us what train to get on.

We got on the train, but now I didn’t know which stop to get off at.  My phone signal was jammed and there were 20 stops to choose from.

With every stop I wondered…Do I need to get off here? Did I miss something?

It was really late, and I was exhausted and so was my son. There was no place to sit, and he was falling asleep standing up.

Earlier we had a conversation in which he said the people in the city all seemed so cold and unfriendly.

He wasn’t wrong by the way people acted and there was a tough looking guy next to us on the train who matched this description.

I kept saying to my sleepy son. “I hope we’re going the right way.”

I finally looked at the so-called unfriendly man and asked if this would take us to New Jersey.  He told me exactly where to get off.

When it was his stop he said, “Don’t worry, you’re heading the right way,” with genuine reassurance.

It did get us to New Jersey, and we caught the next train and were home at 2am.

It wasn’t until the next day that I thought back how grateful I was to all the people who helped us.

I was also grateful for my son.  He was exhausted and never complained once but tried to figure things out to get us home.  It shows a lot about his character.  I’m glad for that as his dad.

But there was another lesson, and this mirrors a big lesson in life which is how to enjoy the journey and to trust that we are heading in the right direction?

For me, I learned a few things that I help my clients with:

1. Ask for help:  The best way to know if you’re heading in the right direction and to get there quicker is to get help.
2. Have a good attitude and have good people around you:  My son was a pleasure to travel with and didn't make a hard situation harder by complaining.
3. Make the most of where you are:  My family gave us a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day and when we got frustrated or had a long wait, I’d just take out the chocolates.  I swear every time I did, something positive happened… The delay ended, the man told us where to go, the time went quicker.
4. Pray:  My son and I pray together, and we prayed a lot when we were stuck in New York. I prayed to get home safely and then I added…”and I hope everyone does also.”  I know we all have different thoughts about a higher power, but whatever your belief is, try prayer.  There’s power in it.
5. Trust:  If you do your part by asking for help, praying, and keeping a good attitude then you can trust, relax and enjoy the journey.

Following these steps above isn’t for just when we are in a high stress situation although they will work well for it.

To me, they are more important in our day-to-day life.

Imagine what your life could be if you took just one of the steps above in your daily life?

Life would be a lot more fulfilling and enjoyable and that’s how it’s supposed to be.

You can’t have a happy ending to an unhappy journey.

Bert