“Ya’ get chewed out?”
“Pretty much.”
This was my response to Tim’s question as I was walking back to my seat in the Atlanta airport after returning from the ticket desk. Unbeknownst to me, the lady behind the counter had responded to the same question numerous times with the same memorized answer. She answered so quickly; it felt like she sang her response condescendingly. “Look up on the screen, last name first, then first initial…seat assignment…” I had no idea what she was talking about, but I AM sure she spoke faster than my brain could process! If I had had a tail, it would have been tucked on the walk-of-shame back to my seat.
After I said, “Pretty much,” I caught the eye of several other passengers who smiled, some even chuckled. Perhaps, they, too, had fallen prey to this woman’s stinging song. Perhaps, like me, they melted back into their seat upon their return.
You see, I am not a world traveler, although I do love to “go” anytime I get the chance. I especially love to fly, whenever possible. I love the fact that I can wake up in the deep South, then, almost miraculously, lay my head on the pillow in another geographic region by day’s end. I love the hustle and bustle of airports. I love hearing the accents of everyone around me. I love the intensity. I love that I always think, “Run, Forest. RUN!” when I see people racing through the airport. Because I’m not a frequent flier, I must remind and reacclimate myself to the obvious (and hidden) rules of airport etiquette.
Tim, Isabella, and I had a “mini-vacay” last week to Louisville, KY. I say “mini” because we piggy-backed a little fun onto a meeting Tim had for work. This meeting is the same one Tim attended in 2016, resulting in our last vacation as a family of four to Naples, FL … see the picture above. This “meeting” is special to us, almost sacred. We planned a little fun before and after the meeting, and his company planned a little fun during the meeting. And, fun it was! Saturday was “let’s get back home” day (aka, travel day). We were leaving Louisville around 5:30 pm and set to arrive in New Orleans by 10:30 including a three-hour layover in Atlanta. I don’t mind layovers because I LOVE to “people-watch.”
Isabella and I fly with a little bit of “excitement” because we fly using built-up travel-miles. Something is rewarding about not paying for a ticket. Although I am sure, I have paid for it in other ways. Those of us who like to travel this way don’t always have the luxury to choose our seats on the plane, hence, the “exciting” part. Instead, we take what comes and sit wherever we are assigned. The two flights getting to Louisville were relaxed and quite roomy. The returning flight from Louisville to Atlanta was “easy-peasy, too! Each time, we went up to the counter and was assigned our seats. Following what I had done three times before on this trip, I was not at all “guarded” when walking up to the counter Saturday night. I pranced right up there and proceeded to ask about our seating assignments.
THIS. This is when I “pretty much got chewed out.” I wasn’t sitting in the direct line of the monitors, so I didn’t realize screens were noting where Belle and I would sit and in what order we would line up. The whole thing was pretty funny and helped pass the time away. For the remaining time, I started doing what everyone else did by watching each “pour soul” walk up, ask their question, and walk away deflated while leaving several IQ points all around that desk.
After a few moments passed, the departure time pushed back 49 minutes later. Instead of leaving at 10:11 pm, we would depart for NOLA at 11:00 pm. Our long night just got longer!!! Fly out at 11 pm … in the air around an hour and a half … grab our luggage … drop Isabella at her apartment … then home … YEP, that’s a recipe for a long night! No wonder the lady at the ticket counter wasn’t happy. Her night just got longer! So, we waited for the pilots to arrive and watched the entertainment unfold at our ticket counter.
The pilots were late getting to the plane, causing a chain reaction of events to unfold. Something caused the pilot’s delay, which affected this flight, my flight. As we burst into the NOLA airport, I noticed weary travelers were waiting for our plane to take them to New Jersey. OK, considering this flight was leaving way after midnight, central standard time, THAT’S a late flight, right there!
I noticed I was focusing on what was going wrong, what was negatively affecting my flight. When everything flowed as planned, we were oblivious as to the inner workings happening on our behalf. While we were eating dinner at the airport, we had a front-row seat as we watched the heavy traffic of the luggage handlers, airplanes, and “what seemed like” millions of other people racing around below us. It was a beautifully choreographed dance of shuttles, carts, and planes bustling about on the tarmac. Each stayed within the painted yellow lines racing to their destination. This was all going on while we were eating dinner, sitting back, watching the clock tick. This is why I love traveling by air. It can seem so fluid, so easy. Effortless, that is when everyone is where they need to be, doing what they need to be doing, at precisely the right time. Each piece relies on the other to move properly. When one part is out of place, a chain reaction occurs affecting many. When the pieces are moving in sync, no one even notices. Things flow.
During this trip, we had an opportunity to visit several other examples of synchronicity on this trip. We visited the Ark Encounter to behold the magnitude and miracle of Noah’s Ark. We toured and painted a piece of unique, hand-made pottery at the Louisville Stoneware Company. Touring the Louisville Slugger factory and the Evan William Bourbon distillery, we saw first-hand how each process mattered. At Churchill Downs, we discovered how extraordinary and intricate the process of preparing for the Kentucky Derby was.
Each job mattered. Each process mattered. Each part mattered. Each contributed to the whole.
When we gaze at pictures of the planet Earth, we see a beautiful, serene sphere rich with vibrant colors of blues, whites, greys, and browns mixed together. Everything seems to be perfectly placed “in sync.” Merriam-Webster defines this term as “in a state in which two or more people or things agree with or match one another and work together properly.” When “in sync,” a beautiful orchestra of events is created. When “in sync,” each factor is valuable. To remain “in sync,” each element is reliant on the one preceding it and affects the one following it.
Airplanes. Pilots. Luggage. Jobs. Schedules. Plans. Races. Art. Relationships. Life.
The Big Picture.
“In Sync.”
I wonder if we trained ourselves to see the “big picture” in all circumstances, how would “our world” be different? I think it would be different, and for the better.
Would seeing the big picture make us perceive ourselves, others, and circumstances with more respect, perhaps, with more honor? I think so because when we focus on the big picture, we gain a glimpse of what God sees.
Would this “new perception” help us become more in line with how God created us and more able to work together “in sync”? I think choosing to see the big picture helps us realize and value each participants’ role in God’s creation.
When we appreciate the beautiful synchronicity of God’s creation, we recognize our value in the “big picture.” Understanding our importance leads us to an appreciation of the value of every living human being. Everything God created has value. Everything. Period.
As we appreciate our value and the value of others, we begin to see that “all things matter,” each person, job, task, and perception adds to the synchronicity of God’s creation. No role, duty, or responsibility to too large or too small.
Our responsibility in life is to love others. One of the ways to do this is to respect and appreciate everyone, including ourselves, because all are His masterpiece. This leads to a “balanced perspective” and a feeling of “flow.” When all things are working as God intended, we experience this feeling of ease. Things just fit together and run smoothly. I experienced “flow” on the first leg of our returning flight home. The bags were checked. We received our assigned seats, and we boarded on time. We landed ahead of schedule. Our luggage was delivered to the connecting flight.
“Flow” in this situation achieved because each piece worked hard to be in sync with everything else. The benefit? I experienced a seamless transition oblivious to each working part. However, when the “flow” was interrupted, I experienced disruption and became acutely aware of the failure of the parts to “work together” in unison. The flow stopped, and I was stuck there in the airport with my tail tucked. I had to reevaluate my focus, determine my mindset, and appreciate the time and effort it takes to get things back in working order.
Everything I think, say, and do affects the overall flow of God’s creation. I choose to remain in sync with Him, meaning I choose to focus on the “big picture,” appreciate the valuable part other people and myself play in this picture, and decide how I could be part of the “flow” of His purpose.
The first picture represents what being “in sync” looked like for me just three years ago. Here’s a picture of what “in sync” looks like now.
May you focus on the big picture, get “in sync” with God, and THRIVE!
Stephanie
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