The title says it all.

What’s the point of life if you aren’t willing to play and take chances like making last minute, seemingly irrational decisions and fly off somewhere because your intuition told you to do so?

I just got back from spending an incredible week in London and I’m about to tell you all about it.   London was a place I had never before been to and is a place I know I will be visiting more and more frequently in the future.  Heck, I might even move there!   No, I’m not kidding.

As I sit here at 4:45 am writing this post (9:45 am London time), I am drinking my first green smoothie in a week (blended 2 fistfuls of kale, one peeled banana, 8 oz. water, fistful of frozen berries and 1 whole sliced apple – kale has a strong, bitter taste for the early raw foodist so throwing in berries and an apple made it sweeter).

While driving myself home from the airport yesterday, I found myself marveling at how everything fell into place so incredibly easily and effortlessly.    That can only lead me to believe this trip was divinely ordained.   How could it not be?

This is going to be one very long post with a some pictures so please sit back with your favorite cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!  I’m going to take you through the entire process, from the moment the idea was conceived to the very end.   Perhaps while you’re reading, you’ll gain some insights for your own life.   At the very least, you’ll vicariously experience London through this post.

The whole thing started a week before my October 29/30th Frito-Lay speaking engagement in Dallas.  One day, I was driving around town, running a bunch of local errands when I was suddenly hit with this thought:   It’s time to go to London.

Whoa, where did that come from?

Actually, to be honest with you, I had been in communications with a guy named Matt Monarch,  a well known raw foodist living in London with his girlfriend, Angela Stokes (also a raw foodist with an inspiring weight loss story of her own).   I had ordered some books from him at Raw Food World after which he sent a personalized reply thanking me for the order.   That impressed me and soon we were emailing back and forth.

As I was out running errands that one day, I was thinking about my conversations with Matt when the idea to go to London took hold.   It seemed irrational, coming out of nowhere yet it felt “right.”   At first I thought it was because of my correspondences with Matt but the more I thought about it, the more I realized God was reminding me to visit someone I knew more personally who also lived in London.

His name is Mike, who I had hosted while he was here visiting the states for a week twelve years ago.  His parting words were, “Whenever you want to come to London, come and stay with me, okay?”

While Matt was generous enough to let me stay with him and Angela the entire week, I felt much more comfortable crashing at Mike’s place since I knew him better.   So I contacted him and said I was hoping to come to London the first week of November and wanted to know if he was free.   That’s when the first of several so called “coincidences” began to show up.

His reply literally made me fall off my chair.   “Guess what?” he said.  “I’m off work that week – come on over – you can stay with me as long as you like!”

Arrangements were immediately made to book myself a flight to and from London but because it was so close to the desired departure date, available seats were priced astronomically high (between $1,000 – $4,000 for economy seats!).

A full day of searching online ended in frustration on a Saturday (about 1 week before the departure date).   The following Sunday morning, I decided I would give it another try and look once more.   If I found a flight for a reasonable round trip airfare, I’d book it, even if it meant driving to Detroit (or some other central hub) to catch myself a plane.

The second of many blessings came when I finally found a seat on Air France for $765 RT.   Even though I’d have to drive 3 hours to the airport and then fly to Paris for a 5 hour layover, I booked it on the spot.   I knew a good deal when I saw one.  I also couldn’t believe I was doing this at the last minute.

Whooo – what exhilaration!

As soon as I booked and confirmed everything, I realized that because the outgoing flight on Air France wasn’t going to be until later in the evening on Sunday (November 2nd), that would give me time to reconnect with old friends.

While I have many friends in Michigan, I was only able to visit with just 3 of them due to severe time constraints and the fact that they lived relatively close to Detroit Metro airport.

I packed only two bags for the trip.   One thing I’ve learned over the years was not to over pack regardless of where I was going.    That’s because I want to avoid checking my luggage, preferring instead to stow them in overhead bins.  That way I reduce the chances of  my luggage getting lost along the way, especially if there was a connecting flight involved.   The only thing I needed to remember was to pack enough warm clothes as London was reportedly cold, damp and windy at this time of the year.    It turned out that I packed rather well because I had all the warm clothes I needed!

On the day of departure, I met with 3 friends in quick succession.  The first was an old pilot friend, Jason and his wife.   He and I used to fly together when we were working at Troy Oakland airport in early 2000.   The second was my good friends John and Michael who have been partners for 12 years living in Royal Oak.  They provided a nice lunch including a ham and cheese sandwich, the first of its kind since beginning my raw food journey in September 2008.   The third was Jim, who I had befriended through a church I was attending while living in Michigan.    It was awesome to see them all.

Since I had to be at the airport at least 3 hours before departure, I had to cut my last visit with Jim short and head straight for the airport.    Finding parking, going through the check-in and security procedures all went smoothly, representing yet another series of “easy and effortless” events that would continue to unfold throughout the rest of the trip.

Flying on Air France to Paris was a hoot.  The plane was booked solid – just about every seat in the economy section was filled.   It was the first time I had seen movie screens on the back of the seats so that was fun to play with.   Although my aisle seat was comfortable and my neighbor was thankfully not a screaming child or someone proportionally out of shape, I could not manage to sleep on the red eye flight.    We departed just before 7 pm and landed in Paris 7 hours later, the next day.   Even though I was wired, I was very tired.

After landing in Paris, I was surprised I had to go through yet another screening process even though I had just gotten off a flight and never left the building.   I went through it without a problem except when a Paris custom official asked me if I had any liquids inside my luggage.  Due to his accent, I misunderstood him and said that I didn’t.   He asked me to step aside and that’s when the question was repeated.   Suddenly, I understood he was probably talking about the “bathroom bag” where I had stored things like toothpaste, a small bottle of eyeglass cleaner, mouthwash, soap, etc.   The grim faced official said to make sure I took that bag out every time I went through the screening process.   With a weary smile, I said, ‘Yes, sir, thanks.”

Then it was 5 hours of roaming around the  Paris terminal, waiting for the next flight to London.  Thankfully I brought with me gogi berries (a raw food superfood – they look like red raisins), cacao beans (raw chocolate, bitter tasting but great when combined with gogi berries), a few bananas, an apple and a bag of Kashi granola cereal.  That kept my stomach happy for a while!

Since one of my pieces of luggage had wheels on it, I was able to glide about the terminal, killing 5 hours of time.    Even though I was dead tired, my eyes were wide awake, absorbing the sights, sounds and smells of the Paris terminal.    Watching people in an airport is a quite a bit of fun because you learn so much just by observing people making their way to countless destinations.

Finally, it was time to board the flight to London for the last leg.  The flight was only an hour.  My London host, Mike, greeted me outside customs with a hastily made signage he made while waiting.  A paper plate was taped to some sort of stick (I think it was a pen or something) with my  name “Stephen Hopson” on it.   I thought it was the cutest thing anyone had ever done for me.  It was funny to see him waiving it like a limo driver trying to catch someone’s attention.   The moment I saw Mike, my bleary eyes gave way to rivers of tears, relieved to see a familiar face in a foreign land.

I had finally made it to London!

That’s when the adventures began.  After snapping a photo of me by the Heathrow sign, we entered the tube (which means subway in America) for the first time in my life.

Riding the tube instantly brought back memories of when I was living in New York City.   What fascinated me was how the people dressed themselves.   Most of them were stylishly dressed with scarfs wrapped around their necks, long/short black overcoats and sneakers (or black boots), etc.

The ride in the tube took about an hour to Mike’s flat (apartment).   Coming out onto the streets was an event in of itself.   A ton of people were rushing around often with worry and anxiety written all over their faces.    Even Mike walked fast – I practically had to run to keep up with him!

One thing I learned very quickly was to look the other way when crossing the streets because the flow of traffic was the reverse of America’s.   Instead of looking to your left and then right when crossing, I had to remember to do the opposite.  I had a couple of tantalizing close calls because I looked in the wrong direction.  Crossing the streets of London is definitely a hazard for the first time visitor!

Mike’s flat was nestled among similar-looking buildings that lined the street, very much what I imagined it’d be from watching all those James Bond movies.   Stepping inside, I was greeted with two cute little dogs that took to a liking to me within an  hour.   This was the flat I would call home for the next week.

As you can imagine, I slept soundly that night.  My bed was a large, comfortable couch.    Despite the 5 hour difference, my body adjusted rather well.   Believe it or not, I suffered no jet lag.   Now, don’t get me wrong, I did feel a little sleepy at times throughout the early days but otherwise felt great.  Not once did I want to take a nap and “catch up.”

The following morning I had my first green smoothie, using Mike’s blender.   Mike took an immediate interest in my raw food journey and we went shopping for fruits and vegetables my first night there.

The following morning I showed him how to make a green smoothie.   Unfortunately, his blender took a turn for the worst and burned out two days later because it couldn’t handle the load we were putting in it.  We managed to make green smoothies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings before it petered out.  Mike is now looking into getting the UK version of the Vita-Mix blender.

We hit the ground running with Mike serving as my gracious host, taking me all over Central London for a week of sightseeing.

I’m telling you, it was absolutely awesome to finally see the Buckingham Palace with my own eyes, watch a parade of colorfully decorated horses and their riders pass by and visit several famous landmarks including bridges, buildings and surviving castles.

We ate lunch/dinner at a handful of British restaurants and pubs and met with some of his friends.  We also got a private bus tour of the site of the 2012 Olympics.  As you can imagine, security was extremely tight – we were not allowed to walk around – we had to stay in the van the entire time.

Every single day we were out hitting the pavement so much that I hardly needed to workout even though I was prepared to do just that.   Now that I’m back to America, I plan to hit the gym beginning tomorrow (Thursday) after my mind gets acclimated to the 5 hour time difference.

You remember earlier when I said this trip to London was first precipitated by a conversation I had with Matt Monarch, the raw foodist living in the UK?    Well, even though I decided not to stay with them the whole week, we did make plans for me to meet them on Thursday night.   That required a 20 minute journey on the underground tube followed by a one hour train ride to Brighton.  By that point, I had thoroughly traveled throughout most of Central London with Mike showing me the way that I felt comfortable going out on my own, giving him a well deserved night alone at his flat.

Except for missing a turn (I walked from the Brighton train station to their house at night), I eventually found my way to the correct residence.  Meeting both Matt and Angela was an interesting experience after reading much about them.

Matt was an in-shape MTV hotshot who ate the typical Standard American Diet (SAD) consisting mostly of fast food and other junk.   He went raw 100 percent overnight (not something that is generally recommended but that’s his story) while Angela, on the other hand, lost half of her body weight on raw food (lost 160 pounds).   While Matt went raw overnight, she went raw gradually.

One thing I noticed about them was how their eyes and faces glowed.    They were the first 100 percent raw foodists I had ever met – it was hard not to notice that about them.     Both were gracious to spend quality time with me, catching up on things in our lives, including the latest in the raw food world.

At one point, Matt invited me to do an exercise with him which turned into a life transforming experience.  Facing each other on the couch, he instructed me to stare at his eyes for the longest possible time without talking.

So there we were, staring into each other’s eyes for what seemed like 20, maybe 30 minutes.   Then something freaky began to happen, making the hair on my neck stand straight up.

Matt’s face began to take on the image of someone else entirely.   I was like Holy Moley!  His eyes became darker while the rest of his face metamorphosed into the face of a very old Indian man!!!    It was both scary and exhilarating at the same time.

Matt broke the silence by asking what I had just seen.   After describing the Indian image, it was his turn to tell me what he had seen while looking into my eyes.   He had seen different colors around my head, including green, yellow, orange and I think red.    I’m not sure what, if anything, those colors meant but it was interesting nonetheless.   Several years ago I had done a similiar exercise during a Landmark Education course in New York City.   The purpose was to allow ourselves to express unconditional love for the person whose eyes I was looking into.   It was like looking into that person’s soul.

I slept on the couch and left to go back to Mike’s flat the following morning.  I felt like a regular “Londoner,” expertly navigating my way around the tube system.  Of course, it helps that I used to work and live in New York City (16 years) with a subway system of their own.

Friday night Mike and I went to a party at a local pub where I had a chance to meet more of his friends.  It was like an International gathering of sorts because I wasn’t the only foreigner there that evening.  Many of them were not originally born and raised in London.   One of the people I became instant friends with was Dani, a teacher for the deaf in London, who was born and raised in South Africa.    I never felt so warmly embraced and welcomed the way I was that night!

Before I forget to tell you, Mike and I were offered an opportunity to participate in a workshop that David, one of his friends, was doing for the British police force.   David (far left in the photo), asked us if we’d be willing to role play with the British cops in a couple of exercises, the purpose of which was to raise awareness among the cops on how different deaf people communicate.

Mike was invited because he’s a profoundly deaf British man whose communication is at a different level from mine.  I was used because I was from America using an altogether different way of communication (mostly oral, using my voice).

To maintain the surprise, David instructed me to remain silent throughout the workshop until it was time to do my part.  He didn’t want the cops to know how well I spoke until it was my turn to role play.   You should have seen the surprise register on their faces – it was a hoot!

At the end of the workshop, I engaged in a terrific conversation with a young, pretty African American British detective (far right side in the first row) who role played with me earlier.  I learned that some members of her families were living in Brooklyn, New York and that it was her desire to join them with a new career in forensic science.    Let’s send her silent blessings, shall we?

By the way, while we were waiting to go inside the police building for that workshop, Mike and I hung out by the gates, waiting for David to meet us.   Unbeknownst to us, while we were waiting for him, we were also being watched by the British police from inside the headquarters.  Apparently someone (perhaps the Inspector?) alerted a couple of deputies that two “suspicious looking” men were languishing outside the gates and gesturing to one another (possibly two terrorists sending signals to one another?  Whoohoo!!).

Shortly before one pm, two plainclothes policemen approached us with a smile and told us not to be alarmed but asked for our ID’s.   It took a full moment to register what was happening.   Both Mike and I told them that we were deaf and that we were waiting for David to retrieve us for lunch before going inside the building for a workshop.

Just as I pulled out my passport, David came sauntering through the security gates, completely unaware of what was happening.  I immediately told the questioning policeman that the man we were waiting for had just walked out to get us for lunch.   It was a good thing I had my passport on me because I had actually considered leaving it back at Mike’s flat before changing my mind.  I remember thinking, “You never know.”

After the cops realized we were harmless, we all shook hands and went separate ways, us to lunch and them back inside the police building.   Even though I was calm throughout the process, I did feel slight aftershock tremors.   What an experience, let me tell you!

After lunch, the three of us returned to the police headquarters and signed in at the security desk.  Just as I signed my name on the guest log, guess who came bounding down the stairs?

The cop who had earlier questioned me!

And take a wild guess at what his name was.  Just one guess.

That’s right, it was Stephen!

Go figure.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip and I know I’ll be visiting London again very soon.   It was a most amazing experience and goes to show that you don’t have to plan everything to the last detail for a trip.   Somehow I brought the right clothes and had the right amount of money on me (British currency).  Except for the few near misses while crossing the streets, things could not have gone better.

If you’re interested in seeing the rest of the photos, you can find them over at my Facebook profile.  Simply look for the London 2008 albums (there are two of them).

Let me leave you with 10 observations I made while in London:

1. It was a challenge to maintain my raw food lifestyle so I had to adapt and did the best I could – I would say 50 percent of my food intake was raw food while the rest was cooked.   I made sure I did not beat myself up for that.  The key was to be as selective as possible under the circumstances and be okay with whatever choices I made.

2. The weather over there would not be suitable for those who get depressed easily – the entire time I was there, the sun only came out once or maybe twice.  It was overcast with intermittent rain, not to mention cold and damp.  But I did not mind at all.   I don’t even think that would bother me if I were to live there.

3. London people seem to lead a fast-paced life, similar to those in New York City.    Many of their faces appeared creased with frantic worry and hurry.   Everyone, even my host, Mike, was a fast walker.

4. The flats reminded me a lot of the apartments in New York City because they were tightly packed and wedged between buildings of all sizes.  Many of them have exceedingly small square footages.   Real estate prices were somewhat comparable to those in New York.

5. The streets were “curvy” – as they turned every which way, quite unlike those straight vertical and horizontal lines in New York.  Drivers sit in the right seat and drive their vehicles on the left side of the road (versus sitting in the left seat and driving on the left side of the road).  This took getting used to.

6. The dollar has been significantly weak against the British pound for quite some time so price-wise, I was at a disadvantage when paying for something because it was the equivalent of almost double in American money.  For example, if something cost me ten pounds, that meant twenty dollars.  I found myself subconsciously converting everything into American dollars every time I went to pay for something!

7. The British certainly know how to dress stylishly.  They have a distinctive look about them, making it easier to separate them from the tourists.    Although I think I blended in rather nicely (jeans, sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt), you could probably tell that I was an American (the camera hoisted on my belt was a dead giveaway).

8. Keeping track of what was what with British money was a huge challenge for it took me time to recognize the different sizes and shapes of the British coins.    It was hard to tell the difference between one pound coins and 50 pence (think pennies).  You would think the pound coin would be significantly larger than the 50 pence coin (since it’s more in value) but the opposite was true.  The 50 pence was larger than the one or two pound coins!

9. The British have different words to describe things like apartment (flat), subway (tube), check (bill) and gas (petrol).  These are the ones I remember at the moment but there were a lot more.

10. And finally, I would like to say without giving too many details that the end result of this trip has not only generated a load of new friends from around the world but it also created the possibility of a new business partnership.   More on that when things fall into place.   But before we go, let’s revisit the title of this blog post:

How Making an Irrational, Last Minute Decision Can Change Your Life

Did you think I did the title justice today?  You tell me!

Food for thought:  Taking risks and doing something as daring as making an unscheduled, last-minute trip can be quite exhilarating.

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