Embracing The Unknown

In June 2020, I was scheduled to be in Europe to finish off my new album. My producer lives in a small picturesque town called Trebinje in Bosnia & Herzegovina, just over the Croatian border.

We agreed that when one of the European countries opened their borders, I would fly there and then enter into Bosnia once their borders opened up.

Well Slovenia was that country. As soon as they announced it, I booked my flight.

On June 5th, I walked into Atlanta airport, one of the busiest airports in the world… it was desolate. No crowds, no rushing.

I flew from Atlanta to Amsterdam and we arrived 30 minutes early, which was extremely lucky as I only had 2 hours between landing and boarding my next flight.?

I walk up to customs, and I’m more nervous than usual.

They let me through and said collect your luggage and check into your next flight.

My flight to Slovenia connected with a different airline through Belgrade in Serbia and as I went to check in, I heard those 6 words that no one ever wants to hear at an airport.?

“Sir, you cannot board this flight”

I said what do you mean? I showed them the official information on the Slovenian police website showing that I’m allowed to be there.

They weren’t having anything of it.

I fought with them for 45 minutes and as the plane took off, I was left sitting alone on the airport floor next to a power outlet charging my laptop trying to find a place that would allow me to stay.

The thing is, each place I contacted had policies that meant they needed to sanitize and have 24 hours before I could stay.

What a strange place to be in - I got myself into this mess, now I needed to find a way out of it.

Another hour passed and I received a message from Hans on Airbnb who is my knight in shining armor in this story.

Hans said 'yes my place is available and what’s more, I can come and pick you up'. Oh Hans! Amazing!

Hans arrives in an old bent up black Mercedes Benz and waves me over.

He takes me to the place, which is beautiful and for the next week I gather more evidence that I am allowed into Slovenia from the embassy and the Slovenian police.

Now, I thought to myself ‘I’ve got to find a way to make the most of this while I’m here’.

I thought about it for a while and Aha! If I can find somewhere with a piano, maybe I can write a song about all of this?

I reach out to a rehearsal space that said they had one online and booked in for Friday.

Friday 12pm, I get on my bicycle that was part of the rental, start riding and the craziest thing happens.

This melody pops into my head.

I know from writing hundreds of songs that I have a very small window of time before that idea for a song is gone and probably never coming back.

So I’m riding down this enchanting tree lined street, the trees reaching up and almost touching each other, phone in one hand, the other hand holding the handle bars. The lyrics are coming fast, so I record a voice memo as I ride along.

I get to the studio space and was devastated by what I experienced.

I walk into the room and immediately this stench of smoke fills the air along with the sound of a drummer in one of the other rooms that I can clearly hear even though it's meant to be sound proof.

Then I realize there’s a hole in the roof, I’m assuming for all of the smoke to make its way out of the room (it was Amsterdam after all), which would have been ok if there wasn’t every single seagull that lived in Amsterdam on the roof that day!

This is the exact opposite to my ideal creative environment.

Now, in that moment, I had three primary options. I could leave, stay and complain, or stay and see what magic I could create.

I sit down... it’s just me and the piano (well, and the seagulls and the drummer). I write onto the page…?

“Breathing in and out again, I find myself in an unfamiliar situation

Yet something feels so right about not knowing what comes next

In the unknown, where the magic lives and all things start

In the unknown, where a life well lived feels write at home

What wondrous encounters, a magical ride, a life worth living out here in the wild”

?

I got on that flight two days later and as we took off, I reflected on the lessons that I had learned about myself and about life.

How many times do we fight something that we perceive is bad, trying to force it to go a certain way, when this direction could actually be taking you towards something better?

I don’t see how that song 'Wondrous Encounters' would have been written if it weren’t for that experience. It's out now (you can listen here on Spotify & Apple Music).

Write this down: "The importance of your inner world is undeniable, especially when your outer world is undesirable."

The messiness is part of the magic. Without it, life would be so boring.

So this week, where in your life could you embrace and step a little more into the unknown?

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About The Author: Cameron Atlas delivers keynotes with a grand piano and guitar on stage, blending live music with powerful insights on Leadership, Peak Performance, Creativity & Innovation. To learn more, visit: cameronatlas.com/meeting-professionals