Sitting at the gate, we look each other over. Boarding the plane, we look
again. The door closes, a last check. What are we looking for? Some sign or
clue that someone out there is dangerous? Sizing people up to see if we can
take them out if needed? It’s a drill I’ve had to deal with often.
Since September 11, I have flown on eight different airplanes. By November
17, if all goes as scheduled, the number of flights will be 46. A friend
asked me yesterday how I could fly at a time like this.
In examining why, I considered two possibilities:
1) Total denial.
2) Spiritual peace.
I’m aboard so many planes because I’m speaking throughout America on
spiritual issues, so I’m committed, basically, to #2. But here is why
attaining spiritual peace can, in fact, make a practical difference.
Getting ready for my first flight, Corpus Christi to Houston, was a mental
debate with anxiety, worry and fear. I wasn’t feeling these emotions, but I
knew that others were. At the airport, however, I noticed a twinge of
suspicion creeping in. I caught myself looking over the new passengers who
would join the few of us already seated.
This was when I had to ask myself what I was looking for. I decided right
then and there that I would need to see each passenger in a spiritual light
if I was to feel consistently at ease about the number of flights I had
scheduled. This was the place to start getting a view that is based on
spiritual goodness, safety and guidance from God.
I didn’t need to depend on the physical circumstances of the moment to feel
safe. God is always present, providing the strength of spiritual conviction
to all. Actively, consciously depending on this strength produces a
practical confidence in good.
As I boarded the plane, I actually felt the strength of this spiritual
peace. It was comforting. It held fear in check, and didn’t allow fearful
images of destruction to replay themselves in my mind.
So on the next plane, from Houston to Los Angeles, I was even better
prepared spiritually to see God’s goodness in the people around me. I sat
next to an up-and-coming actor. He was the big leading man type. He told me
when I first sat down, “If there’s any trouble, just follow me. I’ll take
care of them.” He meant it!
However, as we discussed the spiritual resources available we quickly went
from being self-appointed air marshals to comforting “prayer marshals.”
I told him I felt that this was a time of widespread spiritual awakening,
and that I was cultivating the practice of seeing the people I fly with as
good, because everyone’s being has its basis in God. He said, “Yes, this is
a time for getting back to what is really important.”
He told me he had been dissatisfied with what he had been taught about God
and spirituality. He said he then started a spiritual journey, studying
great writers, religions, and philosophies. I shared with him what I was
learning of God’s nature and my own spirituality how this was helping me
help others.
Later he told me he was looking for acting roles that would bring comfort,
even healing, to others. He felt he was being led to make a difference. He
said, “This isn’t a coincidence that we are sitting together.” I felt the
same. The more I fly, the more I am finding people with a deep desire for a
more spiritual connection to one another.
We talked about everything. For three hours we shared, heart-to-heart. It
was an easy conversation. We were kindred spirits.
I know that many things about life will be different now. I can tell I will
be flying differently. I’ll still have to deal with the carry-on baggage of
fear and suspicion. However, I expect things will continue to get better as
I practice focusing on the spiritual nature of my fellow passengers. I will
be more aware that I will not be flying alone, isolated in my own little
life.
God’s love and power will be present, providing chapels and fellowship in
the clouds. Each flight comes with the opportunity to be a sanctuary – a
sanctuary in the sky. And everyone has the opportunity to be a “prayer
marshal,” taking a stand for the power of goodness.
I departed the plane in Los Angeles with a new view of how everyone in that
sanctuary is God’s child – a precious passenger, who belongs to spiritual
life and love.
I can’t wait for the next flight, the next chapel meeting, to stand guard
with my fellow spiritual travelers.
This article was used with permission from Spirituality.com
