Thoughts from the plane, part 2

I set out on this journey determined to keep my steady state, no matter the obstacles I encountered. My resolve was really put to the test today with my second flight. I'm flying Lufthansa Airlines from Munich to Bombay. Lufthansa Airlines is having a pretty bad day.

Due to a system malfunction, they had no computers in the terminal. What that meant for all passengers to Mumbai is that our checked baggage would not be on this flight. We were given the option to continue on without our checked bags, with no idea of when the luggage would be coming to Mumbai. Upon arriving in Mumbai, we would need to fill out paperwork at the lost and found. Or, we could stay at the Munich airport with our checked bags, with no idea when we'd get another flight to Mumbai.

I opted to continue on - I've waited long enough to get back to Ganeshpuri. I'm not waiting any longer. The problems also meant we were late to board and depart. Now, however, we are less than 2 hours from landing in Mumbai - woo hoo! I'll just keep putting one step in front of the other until I get to Ganeshpuri, steady as she goes. I'll have just over a 2 hour ride once I get out of the airport. Fortunately, the traffic will be enough to keep me wide awake. Even though they have lane dividers on the roads, no one pays attention to them. It is chaotic, and I delight in getting a front row seat (as a passenger, not a driver!).

I was not able to maintain my steady state completely. You see, one of the flight attendants was handing out a customs form to non Indian passengers. We need to have them filled out. She ran out two rows ahead of me. I waited for her to come back, but she never did. After some time, I sought out an attendant to get me a form. They had run out completely. And that was when my steady state got shaken. Not a lot, but enough that the man that was helping me reassured me there was nothing to be upset about. That was when I realized I was not steady in my state. I took a breath, said thank you, and sat back down. Update: The flight attendant I got shaky with tracked down the last customs form on the plane and just delivered it to me. Now I'm all set. 🥰

It's so strange to travel across time zones like this. I got on the plane at 5pm on Tuesday. Our 8 hour trip, during the night, landed us in Munich around 7:30am Wednesday. We boarded the plane for Mumbai around noon. It was a bright and sunny day. Our 8 hour flight will land us in Mumbai around 12:30am Thursday. It doesn't feel like the middle of the night to me. That bodes well for my hopes to make it to Nityananda's temple for morning Abishek and Arti. Those ceremonies are from 4:30-6:30am. Then I can return to Yogini's guest house for a nice long nap. We'll see...

I'll figure out my suitcase. Since it was so full of gifts and light comfort items (sheets, a pillow, and toilet paper), my clothes are in my carry on. I can pick up any toiletries I need at the little pharmacy in Ganeshpuri. The Universe has certainly been offering up lessons for me around being attached to the gifts I was bringing. Now that I'm showing up empty-handed, I can see (or rather feel) that I had some desires and expectations about those gifts and how they would be received. I'm grateful for that awareness. It will allow me to give the gifts that I didn't leave at the Newark Airport freely without any neediness or expectation.

I can also feel that I have some identities tied up in those gifts. I was the bringer of gifts from America! Now that I'm showing up empty-handed, at least temporarily, I recognize some flutters of not enough-ness. Like it's not enough for me to come visit if I didn't bring presents. I know that's not true. And those old stories get lodged inside in some really hidden away places. What a relief that I get to shine the light of Consciousness on those flutters of not enough-ness. When you shine the light of Consciousness on something, it is transformed! 🙏✨️🙏