A few years ago, on a small jet flying from Cleveland to Charlotte, North Carolina, we hit some turbulence that went from minor to not-so-minor. At one point, when our heads nearly hit the compartment above us, the woman sitting next to me grabbed onto my arm and yelled out as loud as possible, "Sweet Jesus we are going down!" It's difficult to describe the grip she had on my arm, I think there are still marks there today.
I'm not sure why, but I spent most of the turbulent time smiling and laughing -- partly at the things the woman next to me was shouting out, "Lord I will forgive him, I will, Just let me live! I need forgiveness, please forgive me!" She would yell and then grasp my arm, pinning it and me to the chair. All the while I was calmly reassuring her that I thought we would be okay.
An interesting thing happened during this event.
Because of my seatmate's conviction that this was the end, I had to contemplate, "Was it?" When I accepted that the possibility of imminent death was real I had the most amazing realization.
As I sat on that bumpy plane, getting tossed around and thinking about dying, the clear, calm thought kept repeating itself in my mind, "I have no regrets".
Now, the reason that this thought was slightly bizarre is because things in my life at that time were far from perfect. Just moments before the plane took off, if you would have asked me how I felt, I would have given you an earful about so many regrets. Still today, I hear the internal chatter letting me know what should be happening, asking why I didn't do this or that with my career or relationships etc. etc. etc. At times, my mind can be filled with regrets.
So to have such a clear feeling that all was well and there were no regrets was, indeed, amazing! I believe it was the real truth. It showed me that the rest of it is habitual thinking. We can be filled with worrying and wishing and regretting and on an on. Our thoughts aren't necessarily representative of our truest convictions, however.
I draw on that "plane going down" energy from time to time. When things get too crazy or I feel down, I remind myself of the truth, and I try to stand in it. I HAVE NO REGRETS.
FANTASTIC!! This means that we can have these messy imperfect lives that actually are just perfect. We can stand in the confidence of all of its imperfect perfection.
After a long while, the turbulence ended, and we landed safely. Upon landing, the woman returned my arm to me. She took some deep breaths then looked me in the eye, and we both laughed and laughed. It was actually fun...the whole thing.
What is the truth in your life? Are you standing in the real truth of your good life no matter what it looks like? Let yourself rest in the part of you that knows that despite what has happened, what has not happened, or what will happen, all is well.
(Written by Jane Hart copyright 2016)
I'm not sure why, but I spent most of the turbulent time smiling and laughing -- partly at the things the woman next to me was shouting out, "Lord I will forgive him, I will, Just let me live! I need forgiveness, please forgive me!" She would yell and then grasp my arm, pinning it and me to the chair. All the while I was calmly reassuring her that I thought we would be okay.
An interesting thing happened during this event.
Because of my seatmate's conviction that this was the end, I had to contemplate, "Was it?" When I accepted that the possibility of imminent death was real I had the most amazing realization.
As I sat on that bumpy plane, getting tossed around and thinking about dying, the clear, calm thought kept repeating itself in my mind, "I have no regrets".
Now, the reason that this thought was slightly bizarre is because things in my life at that time were far from perfect. Just moments before the plane took off, if you would have asked me how I felt, I would have given you an earful about so many regrets. Still today, I hear the internal chatter letting me know what should be happening, asking why I didn't do this or that with my career or relationships etc. etc. etc. At times, my mind can be filled with regrets.
So to have such a clear feeling that all was well and there were no regrets was, indeed, amazing! I believe it was the real truth. It showed me that the rest of it is habitual thinking. We can be filled with worrying and wishing and regretting and on an on. Our thoughts aren't necessarily representative of our truest convictions, however.
I draw on that "plane going down" energy from time to time. When things get too crazy or I feel down, I remind myself of the truth, and I try to stand in it. I HAVE NO REGRETS.
FANTASTIC!! This means that we can have these messy imperfect lives that actually are just perfect. We can stand in the confidence of all of its imperfect perfection.
After a long while, the turbulence ended, and we landed safely. Upon landing, the woman returned my arm to me. She took some deep breaths then looked me in the eye, and we both laughed and laughed. It was actually fun...the whole thing.
What is the truth in your life? Are you standing in the real truth of your good life no matter what it looks like? Let yourself rest in the part of you that knows that despite what has happened, what has not happened, or what will happen, all is well.
(Written by Jane Hart copyright 2016)