So on Sunday, I flew home from Peru.
I was happy to be heading North,
and doubly happy to be flying business class due to the last minute purchase of my ticket.
It has been a LONG time since I had a really long and meaningful conversation with a passenger on a plane... The last time was possibly the woman who was heading to the conference in San Fran, which I wrote about years ago on harmony... "Sparkles & a random life". It was in March of 2014...
Anyway...
I found my seat on my ride home, and a beautiful young lady sat next to me.
She had been sitting one seat back hugging her brother a minute earlier.
I said my customary "hello" and asked her where she'd been... typically on flights, which I take very often, a few pleasantries are exchanged, and movies or reading become the multi-hour mindless escape.
"I just spent 6 months doing NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala."
hmm... this could be interesting.
I couldn't help myself but to ask questions. She was a college student from the US, studying in Europe and she had decided to take a break for the past semester and simply, "listen to her thoughts."
Needless to say, I was engaged in the conversation and trying to explore how she thought, what she learned, how it all worked... I had so many questions...
She was studying some major made up of sustainability, environmental issues, mindfulness... she said it gave her a platform to explore a lot of classes and figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, and was in no real hurry to figure it out. She trusted that things would fall into place when they should... and she was simply trying to be present and aware when they did.
I could write probably an entire book about our conversation.
She was exploring life literally as she was starting to walk into it... (I can't help but wish I'd had that courage)...
And, I am exploring life 35 to 40ish years into a conscious existence...
We compared notes... She was much more willing to take leaps into the unknown... Much more comfortable with the fluidity and a willingness to explore the energy of life and the universe.
Me... always holding on to my engineering roots... wanting to create a structure to my thoughts and what I learn... trying to define a formula to apply... truths to build from...
I felt like we came from different worlds, and it started to feel like the universe itself had brought us together.
She was heading back to Europe "TO CO-TEACH a CLASS ON THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS..."
OH MY!
YES!!!! LOVE IT!!!! And, she was looking for ways to try to engage the class in non-traditional ways...
I had so much to say, and yet was trying to not be that guy... the know it all... the one with the answers... because as far as I could tell - she was doing an amazing job of pursuing happiness in a crazy authentic and rich and passionate and open-minded way...
I kept checking in with myself... "You are talking to much..."... and trying to listen to her story as well. It was fascinating.
She was teaching me about courage, about authenticity, about the universe...
I could't help myself.... I had to share with her the idea of "HARMONY".
She liked it...
She liked it ALOT...
She smiled at me
and said,
"I love it... it's like an atom"
We talked about the reaction of moment over moment... the thoughts of harmony begeting harmony...
It all starts with the "IS"...
"Do you know what is funny...?.", she asked.
I am the "IS"..."
My name is Isabel... and everyone calls me "IS"...
I couldn't help but smile... how much fun could she have marketing "Harmony"...
We talked for 4 hours non-stop.
It was a treat and a gift and such a wonderful exchange.
I will write at least a couple of conversations about the discussions we had...
She inspired me to be bolder with HARMONY.
She saw the value of it, the power of it - in terms of helping to create definition to things that are otherwise so hard to speak to...
She is off to Europe now... continuing on her journey to understand the universe and change the world...
This is what it's all about, I thought...
RELATING...
finding souls in the universe with whom you can share all that you are learning...
and learning from them in return...
I can now say that I have met the "IS",
and she was way cool...
Lake Atitlan in Guatemala sounds amazing...
There is something about people you meet on a plane...
or for that matter in many random places...
You get to share a moment...
Very often...
it is a brief moment,
most often limited to a short greeting...
And, on occasion, the universe delivers you a treat...
A long and meaningful conversation with fellow soul you get to share the universe with...
For me, last Sunday's flight was a special treat...
I got to meet THE "IS"...
and she was on her way to teach a class on the pursuit of happiness...
WANTING some clarity on HARMONY...
how perfect and random is that?
I have a feeling our paths will cross again...
in harmony,
Nestor