My Flight From Detroit

While waiting for a flight at Detroit airport, I noticed on the departure screen that a flight could get me to my destination several hours early. I knew Nathanael, my son, and Stephanie, his girlfriend (now his wife and my daughter-in-law), were waiting for me as they had traveled ahead of me. So I walked up to the gate agent in charge of the earlier flight and asked if I could switch flights.

The attendant, clearly irritated from perhaps the stress of the day, snapped back at me a resounding NO and then told me that the flight was overbooked, and she was looking for volunteers to accommodate already booked passengers. Besides, she already had a long standby waitlist of passengers ahead of me. So she bluntly told me, “There’s no chance you will get on.”

I gently nodded and mustered up enough courage to ask her if she would be willing to place me on a waitlist just in case. Departure was less than an hour away, and I had nowhere else to go but sit at the airport anyhow. I said, “So if you don’t mind, I will walk around here and check back later.” Still stressed, she said okay, and then reiterated that I would not get on because the flight was packed, and I would be #12 on the standby list for that small plane.

I walked away and found a chair nearby, closed my eyes, and began to meditate on peace, love, and grace to calm the stressful noise in my head. Then I created a vivid picture in my imagination of sitting on the plane in a good seat where I could stretch my long 6.5’ frame. I was so happy, relieved, and peaceful playing out the scenario with my imagination. Finally, I expressed thanksgiving to the divine for love and grace in whatever happens in life.

I must have meditated for fifteen to twenty minutes. I then opened my eyes, and the flight was boarding. After all passengers with seat assignments had boarded, they began to call out name after name of passengers on standby. Eventually, I was the only one left waiting at the gate. Ten minutes passed, and they were now about to close the gate. So I walked up to the gate agent, asking if by any chance they had a seat for me.

She looked at her computer and motioned for me to come over, and printed out a boarding pass for me. Being the last one to board, they shut the door to the plane, and I went to find my seat. It was right behind business class but had more leg-room than any other seat on the aircraft, including the business class seats. What had been only a vivid reality in my imagination thirty minutes earlier, I was now experiencing as reality.

I’m not suggesting the manifestation always happens that quickly. Sometimes it’s quite immediate, but other times it takes months and even years before an imagined event becomes a reality. But keep directing your imagination with thanksgiving because it’s only a matter of time before manifestation if you don’t lose heart.

Adapted from David Youngren, Beyond Limits: 7 Steps To Create The Life of Your Dreams