Breaking Open in Budapest

���The bravest people know when they can���t face it alone.���

– Unknown

Have you ever had a spectacular argument with a loved one in public?��

We did! Back in October, my friend & travel companion, Lynne, and I had a big bad blowout on the streets of Budapest – right after we got off the bus from the airport. It was epic!

I will spare you the details of what we were fighting about because they aren’t important. What is important is that after loudly sharing our difference of opinions in a rather hilarious (in hindsight) hissy fit – while dragging our mountain of suitcases through the busy streets of Budapest in broad daylight – we had the wisdom to cool down, apologize to each other and at least try to understand the other person’s perspective…and then we both let it go. And then moved on to have an amazingly time in beautiful Budapest!

But that’s not what this blog is about

This blog is about what happens when we don’t deal with what is bothering us.��

After one of our free walking tours of Budapest, Lynne and I had a brief but heartbreakingly candid encounter with the Hungarian tour guide who had just given us an outstanding tour. He was in his early thirties and very handsome!

After the tour had ended, he thanked us all for joining him, then said something to the effect of: ���I hope you enjoyed your experience today. I did. In fact, giving these tours is the highlight of my day at this point, because I am going through a really rough time right now. So thank you.���

Then everyone went on their merry way. Except for Lynne and I…we stayed behind. Although the guide was clearly in a hurry to be heading off to wherever he had to go next, we weren���t going to let him off that easily.

���I���m sorry you���re going through a rough time,��� I said, watching as he stuffed a last few items into his backpack.

���Thanks,��� he said, glancing up at me. ���I hope you enjoyed the tour.���

���We loved it!��� I said.

“Good!”

���You were fantastic!��� said Lynne.

“Thank you.” He stood up, hoisting his backpack over one shoulder.

We all looked at each other a moment.

���I���ve never gone through anything like this before,��� he said, “and it terrifies me that I don���t know how to handle it.���

I nodded. ���I bet.���

���My friends are really good,��� he continued. ���So I am talking to them…���

���Maybe you could talk to a professional, too?��� I suggested.

���I know. But what if they dig up all sorts of stuff that���s wrong with me?! Or maybe that would be a good thing? Maybe it���s time. I don���t know������

Ahhh���very interesting. He knew he needed to talk to someone – but he wasn���t thrilled about a psychologist digging into his psyche. Which I totally get! When I was going through a really rough time, I was very anxious about talking to a psychologist or psychiatrist because I didn’t want them digging up stuff that I was not yet ready to face…I was still in survival mode, not healing mode.

���Not necessarily,��� I said to our handsome tour guide. ���In fact, you might actually only need to see a therapist a few times. It can be incredibly helpful just to talk to someone who knows how to listen. You might feel a lot lighter!���

���Yeah���maybe,��� he said. ���I mean, my friends are great and they care, but������

I smiled. ���But…most people don���t know how to be a good listener.���

He laughed. ���Nope.���

Then we went our separate ways. I will never know what happened next. Maybe he chose to see a psychologist. Maybe he didn’t. But I strongly suspect he’ll be okay. If he is courageous enough to tell a group of strangers that he is going through a rough time, he very likely found the courage to talk to someone who is a good listener.

We all need help at some point in our lives to get us through the difficult patches. But I think, just like the tour guide, sometimes we are hesitant to talk to a mental health professional because we’re terrified they’ll go digging deep into our past and unearth all sorts of horrible stuff. But it doesn���t have to be that way.

If we don���t want someone dredging up things we would rather keep buried – at least for now – then we can make that clear from the outset. Sometimes what we need the most is to talk to a person who can truly listen as we try and verbally sort out what the heck we are going through.

Regardless of who we ask for help���asking for it is not weak, it���s wise. It also takes tremendous courage and humility to recognize that we cannot travel some stretches of life’s journey alone.

���Vulnerability is not weakness; it���s our greatest measure of courage.���

��� Brene Brown

And sometimes we’re going to have disagreements with the person we are traveling with. And that’s okay, too. It’s all part of the experience. In fact, sometimes the bumpy bits are an integral part of the journey. Navigating our way through the rough patches often helps us appreciate the road ahead that much more.

And on that note, here are some fab photos of Lynne & I in Budapest:

At Buda Castle with the Parliament Buildings in the background (on the other side of the Danube river)

St. Stephen’s Basilica

A bookseller cart!

Yummy Hungarian meal

MA rubbing the policeman’s belly for good luck!

“Shoes on the Danube” monument, created in memory of the thousands of Jews who were forced to remove their shoes before being shot here during the Holocaust

The unbelievably beautiful Buda Castle at sunset

Parliament Buildings lit up at night

Happy again

Maryanne Pope is the author of�� ���A Widow���s Awakening.��� ��She also writes screenplays, playscripts & blogs. Maryanne is the CEO of�� Pink Gazelle Productions�� and Co-Founder of the�� John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. ��To receive her blog, ���Weekly Words of Wisdom,��� please�� subscribe here . And be sure to visit our�� PinkGazelleCards Etsy shop .

Available in our Etsy shop

The post Breaking Open in Budapest appeared first on Pink Gazelle Productions.