We never truly know when someone is going to waltz into our lives and make an impact that will stay with us for a very long time. I certainly didn’t expect this when Joy and I landed in Philadelphia from Rome after a 10-hour flight across the pond. We landed at 3 p.m. and our connection back home to Dallas was not scheduled to take off until 9 p.m. so as we deboarded the plane as opposed to going right to the Admiral’s Club to spend the next 5 or so hours killing time I suggested to Joy that we try to catch an earlier flight back home to DFW. Little did I know that this one action would allow us to meet one of the most delightful lights of love that I have met in a very long time.
Joy and I made our way to the American Airlines counter and asked, ‘What are the odds of us getting on an earlier flight?’
The smile radiating from the other side of the counter was wonderfully unexpected. Airline employee plus being in Philadelphia seemed to be a recipe for a challenging encounter however I discovered it was quite the opposite. This beautiful ray of light named Shondra immediately smiled and asked, ‘What’s your status?’
In no other place in the world is ‘status’ so obvious than in the world of airlines. In a world where I believe we are all equal the airlines choose instead to divide us into neat categories plainly labeling our worth. ‘First Class’, you have arrived. ‘Business class’, you are arriving. ‘Coach’, you better work just a little bit harder because what you are bringing to the table is bordering on being a slacker.
Airlines even go so far as to label the passengers with convenient little labels to let us know what kind of airline 
passengers they are on each flight someone might take. ‘Executive Platinum’ screams experienced traveler that is usually put out by those with less travel experience than themselves. ‘Platinum’ is the middle class of fliers, usually settling into a coach seat but sometimes on rare occasions gets the ‘bump’ up to first class for a little taste of the good life. ‘Gold’ signifies you travel just enough that we will allow your bags to fly for free but don’t even think about asking for a complimentary cocktail because you really haven’t quite reached that ‘status’ yet.
‘Platinum,’ I announced to Shondra as she began pecking around her keyboard to try and find us seats on an earlier flight.
It didn’t take Shondra long before she indeed secured us two seats on the 4:30 flight back to Dallas however she informed Joy and me that we would not be sitting next to each other on the plane.
‘I have two seats for you. One is in 6F and one is in 16F. You two work out who sits where,’ Shondra said with a smile as she sent us on the way to the gate.
Joy and I grabbed our carryon luggage and made our way to the gate. Our trip had almost come to a close and quite frankly I thought the story of the journey had been put to rest. We only had the three-hour flight home and I didn’t really anticipate anything of note happening. This, for me, should always be a surefire sign that something magical is going to happen. It always comes when I least expect it.
Joy and I only had a very short wait at the gate before we began boarding. As we got on the plane I asked Joy if she wouldn’t mind bringing me my iPhone after we got in the air so that I could listen to music during the flight. Joy took it upon herself to be in charge of all electronics midway through the trip after we had both inadvertently lost a few items due to carelessness. Joy carried our ‘satchel’ of electronics and since we would be several rows away I decided I would put on my meditation music and reminisce about our amazing journey through Europe.
I had barely taken my seat in row 16 when a flight attendant and one of the most beautiful shining lights I have ever met approached me with my iPhone in her hand. I would come to find out later her name was Julianne and her story would become one that I would never forget.
‘I was told to give this to you,’ Julianne said to me in the cheeriest and kindest way possible. ‘Also, I think I will be able to get seats for you both so that you two can sit next to each other on the flight. This flight isn’t full so I will get some people to move around for you.’
This was such an amazing gesture. Neither Joy or I asked her to do this but she still went out of her way to accommodate us so that we could travel the final leg of our journey while sitting next to each other.
The flight wasn’t full and after everyone was onboard the plane, before takeoff, Julianne came back to row 16 and said, ‘we are moving you up to row 6. Someone agreed to move for you!’
I grabbed my loose belongings and then decided to leave my carryon in the overhead compartment because I knew finding space near row 6 would be difficult. Soon I was sitting right next to Joy for the trek home. Once again, the Universe worked everything out in our favor. If we only let go then we can allow the Universe to express her beautiful creativity on our life. The manifestations come in ways we could seldom dream up on our own.
Joy and I sat reliving some of the best moments of the trip for about thirty minutes as we ascended into the sky when all of a sudden we saw that the drink service was starting and our new friend Julianne came to offer us more of her amazing love and light.
‘I hear both of you are celebrating a birthday this year so I am going to buy you a birthday drink,’ Julianne said with a mischievous smile. Julianne was rigging the system on our behalf. She really was my kind of flight attendant.
‘It actually is my birthday,’ Joy responded. (Birthdays last nearly two weeks for Joy and why shouldn’t they? Everyday should be treated like a birthday. We could call them rebirth days.)
‘I had a feeling it was,’ Julianne said smiling.
Julianne wished Joy a happy birthday and suddenly I discovered they were becoming fast friends on this final leg of our journey. For my part I was simply marveling at how perfectly this trip had worked out. I mean, apart from the crying kids that were next to use on the plane, everything was perfect. Their parents just let them play games on their phones, so they were calm for the rest of it. It was such a relief when they went to sleep! Each moment of the journey had been so divinely guided and my faith in surrendering to that guidance had become stronger each step along the way.
The Universe kept delivering hit after hit. First, we get on an earlier flight without any trouble, then Joy and I find seats right next to each other and finally we are given a free drink. Life was so terrifically beautiful. Years of struggle and torment had finally evened out and suddenly when I fully surrendered to the flow of the Universe everything magically started to manifest.
Joy and I thanked Julianne and then she moved on her way to continue with the drink service. There was no doubt in my mind that Julianne would shine her beautiful light on each passenger as she made her way through the cabin.
After she moved on through the cabin I turned to Joy and said, ‘I would like to give her a gift of some kind.’
We started discussing what we could give to her as a token of our appreciation. We considered giving her a package of dried pasta sauce mix that we had purchased in Venice but when Joy told me that the packages we tucked away in her luggage in the overhead bin I said we would think of something else.
Shortly after the drink service Julianne returned to our row and we began chatting about our favorite places that we have traveled. We told her about our latest journey to Europe for Joy’s birthday and she in turn told us about some of her favorite places in the world. She explained that even though she was on a domestic flight today normally she is an international flight attendant.
‘Nothing excites me more than traveling all over the world,’ she admitted.
We all agreed that travel is the elixir that fuels all of our lives. We talked about Costa Rica, Nevis, Bermuda, Hawaii, Spain, Holland, France and Italy with each of us sharing our favorite things about each destination. Time whizzed by as other passengers dozed off or tried to master Angry Birds or some other game on their devices. No one took much notice as the three of us fantasizing about our next journeys.
‘Where should we go next?’ Joy and I asked Julianne.
Julianne started listing off some of her favorite places, many of which I have also been and completely agreed with her love of these destinations. Then, Julianne offered the suggestion that has been coming to me more and more.
‘Ireland. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world and the people are the friendliest you will ever meet,’ she said enthusiastically.
Ireland keeps coming back to me. Ireland has been calling me for about a year now. I have never been drawn to go to Ireland but Ireland seems completely convinced that I need to visit so I am keeping my mind open. Julianne nudged me to Ireland and for some reason, I feel completely compelled to take her advice and go. I mean, I’ve thought about look at when I get the time, so maybe I might be visiting Ireland sooner than I think. Who knows? I might even have to check out. My friend told me Portrush was a fantastic place in Ireland to visit.
Julianne is one of those beautiful souls that although I may have only met seconds ago it felt as if I have known her for many lifetimes. The conversation flowed as if we were lifelong friends.
‘I wasn’t even supposed to be on this flight,’ she told us. ‘I was scheduled on this flight and tried to get someone to pick it up but I couldn’t find anyone to do it. I am never on domestic flights.’
We then told her we weren’t supposed to be on this flight either and that we had just hopped on this flight last minute to get back to Dallas earlier than expected.
‘It’s fate!’ Julianne said. ‘We were supposed to meet.’
We continued talking and laughing when finally Julianne mustered the courage to tell us one of the most amazing stories I have ever heard. Very few times in life do you know, while it is happening, that what you are hearing will stay with you for the rest of your days but this was indeed one of those stories.
‘I have been some place that you have not yet gone but you will one day,’ Julianne said.
‘Oh yeah? Where?’ we both responded.
‘The best place I have ever traveled is to heaven.’
To say that Julianne got our attention is an understatement. She then proceeded to give a moment-by-moment account of her brush with the divine.
When Julianne was 40 (she is currently 50) she was in her hotel room following a layover. She was reading when suddenly she felt a very sharp pain in her chest. She became alarmed because the pain was so sharp but she told us the pain passed and she attributed it to something she had eaten that was causing her feelings of discomfort.
She said had returned to her reading thinking it had passed when she said once again the pain came only this time it was much more intense.
‘It felt like someone put their hands in my chest and tried ripping my heart out. Instantly, I knew I was having a heart attack and that I was about to die,’ she said while Joy and I sat on the edges of our chairs listening to her tale.
She said that she knew she needed help so she tried, with all of her might, to get to the phone by the bedside so that she could call for help however the pain was so debilitating that she couldn’t even reach for the phone.
‘Then, I saw it. There was a white light and I instantly started moving towards it and before I knew it I was looking down at my body lying on the bed.’
Julianne then told us she moved towards the light and was met by five spirit entities that were pure light. She told us that from the center of these spirit entities came rays of light that emitted pure love to her. She said she felt completely calm and at peace and that she felt as if she were home again.
‘I wasn’t scared at all,’ she admitted. ‘All of the answers were there for me.’
A peace of mind is prevalent with Julianne. It’s like she has been given the answers to a final exam moments before the test was about to be administered and she knew with certainty she was going to ace it. We sat drinking in this peace as she continued her story.
‘They began showing me my life review. Every moment of my life was being replayed back to me and every emotion and feeling that I felt at the time I was now feeling all over again. These spirit entities sat in complete non-judgment of me and in fact, I was the only one judging any of the things that I had done. There simply was not one ounce of judgment on the other side,’ Julianne continued.
Julianne then went on to explain that her grandmother who had passed years earlier came to her from above as a light source and told her that it wasn’t her time to depart the Earth.
‘It is time for you to go back so that you can raise your children. There is nothing for you to fear however when you return live your life filled with gratitude and remember that love is all there is,’ her grandmother intimated to her.
Julianne said in that moment she began leaving the light and soon she awoke in her bed. The pain from her heart had passed and she quickly reached for her journal beside her bed and began taking copious notes of the experience. She wrote down every detail so that she could always remember this amazing experience.
Joy and I sat listening to the story, enthralled by the tale. It was in this moment that I knew instantly what I wanted to give to Julianne as a gift. I always carry in my pocket a rock that reads ‘gratitude’. It is a reminder to me to keep a grateful heart always and after Julianne mentioned that her grandmother said live your life with gratitude I knew this was the gift that I would give to Julianne.
I asked Joy if she would hand me a Secret Blue Butterfly kindness card, which she did and I reached into my pocket and I said to Julianne, ‘A few moments ago I said to Joy that I wanted to give you a gift. I know what the gift is now.’
I handed Julianne the rock and as soon as she looked at it tears streamed down her face. I must admit I was a little taken aback and I thought maybe my gesture wasn’t received as I had intended but my trepidation quickly went away when Julianne told me that she too had something to give to me.
‘This is the most amazing thing,’ she declared as she rose to make her way back to the galley. When she returned she presented me with her very own rock and on it were the words, ‘you are loved.’
Now it was my turn to be stunned. For nearly two years I have been leaving random acts of kindness, flowers, a gift card, a note or a $5 bill here or there with a Secret Blue Butterfly kindness card and I always leave a post-it note that reads, ‘you are loved.’ This was undoubtedly divine intervention. I asked Julianne how she could have possibly had a rock like this on a plane in the middle of the sky. She said that for more than a year she finds rocks from around the world and she writes the note ‘you are loved’ and she gives them to strangers to lift their spirits and make their day a little bit brighter.
Here we were, three strangers having just met and all three of us had been performing random acts of kindness for people and now we were brought together to share in this moment. The Universe had brought me a sign, and not just a small sign, about the importance of being kind. It only takes the smallest gesture to brighten someone’s day. Oftentimes we will find reasons why we can’t be kind; we are too busy, we feel the gift might not be well received, we can’t afford it or any other of a myriad of reasons why we can’t take the first step towards kindness.
Julianne was my affirmation that we must strive to be kind. We must strive to be the change that we so long to see. Through love and compassion we can and will heal the world however we just need to take the first step. We must reach into our pockets and withdraw the ‘gratitude’ rock even if we fear being rejected because when we are truly kind, when we show our fellow men and women of the world our compassion we will never be rejected. The world is looking for kindness, the world seeks compassion, the world seeks cooperation and when we submit to our truest loving nature the Universe opens up for us. The Universe embraces us in Her arms and says, ‘Keep shining your beautiful light. You are making a difference!’
Julianne has a beautiful Facebook page called ‘Rocks From Around the World’. Visit her page, like her page, be inspired by her page and send your love to her and her beautiful page. She is a shining light and she is one of the amazing light workers in the world.
As the flight descended into Dallas Joy, Julianne and I all agreed to keep in contact with each other. Joy and Julianne made plans to take an online Course in Miracles course together. Cards were exchanged, numbers shared and the beginnings of a friendship began taking root. Why? Because we stopped looking at our devices and phones for one small minute and then humanity opened up to us. Julianne had touched our hearts in ways that she couldn’t imagine. She became the beautiful cherry on top of Joy’s birthday sundae.
We are blessed always and forever. The world awaits our light so let us all shine forth on this Universe with all of the love and compassion that resides in our hearts. Thank you for this amazing journey. I hope each of you is blessed with people you love, experiences that light up your heart and a world that becomes more loving and kind with each of you in it.
Keep shining your light, Fellow Travelers. You are loved always and forever.
Leave A Comment