Life is like an enormous airport terminal.
Some days we show up to life with countless destinations available, and a suitcase filled with hopes and dreams. Other days we show up with a suitcase filled with no sense of direction and no sense of control.
The airport is great for people-watching! Imagine yourself observing your fellow passengers.
There are a million reasons, situations, and circumstances for being at the airport. An airport is a limbo space. People are leaving, arriving, or waiting for the next stop. People going on a trip: business travelers, solo travelers, families seeing family, friends meeting friends, students, teachers, parents, grandparents, entertainers, athletes, volunteers…
As you look around, I wonder:
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Are these people waiting for something good to happen? Fun, excitement, adventure…
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Are these people dealing with something bad that happened? Sadness, grief, loss…
We are all these people. As I look around and reflect on what my fellow travelers might be thinking and doing, I find the airport symbolic of our human condition.
Life is a circuitous route. Can we buy an airline seat “to happiness” and take a non-stop flight “to certainty”? Nope! We cannot bypass living, dying, loving, struggling, laughing, crying…
How will we ever have peace of mind when we’re constantly facing the unknown? When people run away from their problems, they’re destined for anxiety, apprehension, and worry. The moment we start thinking about what could go wrong instead of what could go right, we get delayed or stuck [at the airport of life].
Life can be a series of delays, cancellations, and reschedules. Some of these factors are out of our control. Mother Nature, maintenance issues, air traffic congestion…are concrete examples of what happens at the airport. Setbacks, sickness, loss, rejection, and failure are part of navigating the airport of life.
How we handle these situations guides our hopes and plans for the future. Sometimes we pray this is a brief stopover.
Consider two travelers.
One is caught up in arriving — being in a certain place at a certain time. Traveling city to city, destination to destination, but never feeling grounded. Always thinking happiness is somewhere else.
The other allows their plans to unfold - guided by a sense of discovery.
We are all destined for peace, joy, and contentment.
We might have to be rerouted now and then. We might have to lighten our suitcase because we’ve gone over the limit. It does not matter what airline seat classification (economy, business, first) you’re in; we are all trying to find meaning in our lives.
We have an internal control tower, or we might call it an internal guidance system. This guidance system helps us move toward our true desires, deal with our circumstances, and have faith and trust in the process.
If we can’t see the horizon, we stop dreaming. Allow yourself to get lost, to go off course. Look up now and then. Let your curiosity lead you. Practice letting go of what the world expects of you and discover what God has waiting for you. Stop searching outwardly for validation and answers.
Do you need to be shown the way? Find your people. The people who let their dreams take flight and courageously face their fears. The people who think and act with an attitude of what could go right, not what will go wrong. They are brave; they take a chance on something new.
I know, sometimes we are weak and weary. Sometimes we have to travel great distances to transform ourselves, others, and the world around us. But the growth happens in the lessons we learn. Traveling great distances takes courage and the capacity to deal with discomfort.
Ask yourself: Is the distance too great to travel? Or are you willing to travel the distance?
JJH
Funny thoughts:
Substitute a train station if preferred. 🙂
Airport traveler categories - the business flyer, the early bird, the vacationer, the overpacker, the outlet hog, the first-timer, the pajama gamer, the last-minute runner, the mom...
If you could only pack 5 things in your suitcase, what would they be?
Mine? — Patience, Kindness, Courage, Forgiveness, and a whole lot of Love!