Numbers and Angels and Airplanes Oh My!
This year I was bitten by a travel bug. Between vacation and work I flew to three different countries and four different states. I love traveling to new places, and meeting new people. Plane rides often present interesting opportunities to make new acquaintances and indulge in interesting conversations. And on a recent trip home from San Diego I had a profound experience. An angel sat next to me on the air plane and he taught me a lot about myself. I didn’t know it at first, but looking back it was a no brainer. I am so grateful to share this experience with you during the holiday season to reflect on lessons learned, good will and angel love.
Prior to leaving for my trip, I startedseeing repetitive numbers. 2’s and 4’s indouble and triple digits in all sorts ofcombinations at least 15-20 times in a day.
The numbers would show up at the end of a license plate, on a restaurant bill, and on the number of unread emails. I’d glance at the clock and it would be 10:44 or my odometer reading of my car was 1144. I started snapping pictures of the numbers, so I could document them.
When I arrived in San Diego, the numbers seemed to be calling my name. The first day I walked right by a building with a large address plaque with 444.
I spoke to a friend for 2 minutes and 22 seconds, and the time was 2:44. One of my teachers taught me that if you see or hear something at least three times in a row to pay attention. The universe is sending you a message. There are several ways to interpret these numbers but my gut was telling me that my angels were communicating with me. But what were they trying to tell me?
I didn’t know what they meant until I arrived back home to the Philadelphia airport and then it all came together. I didn’t think the plane ride home was going to be anything out of the ordinary. I had a window seat, and a man that looked to be in his mid 70’s sat in the aisle seat leaving the seat empty between us. I imaged how nice it would be to have an empty seat in the middle, and then, unfortunately an elderly gentleman approached our row and stopped to stow his luggage. He was tall lanky man and looked to be in his late 80’s. He moved slowly and methodically as he took off his trench coat and folded it before stowing his luggage. The line of passengers got longer as they waited behind him to get into his seat. The man sitting in the aisle rudely commented to him to hurry up and sit down because he was holding up the whole plane. He was very offensive and I figured they must be related in some way and the “elderly man” was getting on the younger man’s nerves.
The loud grumbling of aisle man continued as the old man settled into his seat between the two of us. Aisle man kept referencing that elderly man was in his personal zone. The women sitting in front of us, peeked behind her seat and gave me an uncomfortable glance. I smiled sheepishly thinking, of all the people I could be sitting next to, why did it have to be two grumpy, miserable old men. The loud bickering went on, and the aisle man kept clearly stating that the older gentleman was in his personal space and asked him to move his elbow off the arm rest because it was poking his ribs. Aisle man flagged down the flight attendant to move to another seat, but was denied because the plane was full. The situation was getting very uncomfortable. The man in the middle defended himself in a high pitch voice and seemed vulnerable to me. I shifted my body towards the window to get away from their energy and protect myself. I closed my eyes and radiated magenta light to both men and myself. Magenta is the light frequency and vibration of peace and harmony. It’s like saying a prayer but sending it in color. That should help, I thought. I could hear my Mom’s voice in the back of my mind. “Kill them with kindness Kristin!”
They quieted down after the plane took off and I noticed they both had their eyes closed. I couldn’t image how the man in the middle seemed so relaxed after the aisle man attacked him verbally. I was still holding onto the tension and anger that the aisle man projected, but felt relieved that they settled down and then the hypnotic white noise and movement of the air plane lulled me to sleep. I was awakened by the flight attendant asking if I wanted something to drink and she handed me a bag of pretzels. It was lunch time and I was hungry. I pulled out a hearty salad that I purchased in the airport and indulged in my lunch. Aisle man ordered lunch from the menu and middle man opted out. While we were eating our lunches, the elderly man pulled out the menu, looking hungry. I felt uncomfortable eating while he was sitting there with no food. As he fumbled with the menu, I decided to break the ice and cautiously offered him my pretzels. I wasn’t sure if he was going to deny and snap at me, but he graciously accepted. We made some small talk and he seemed a lot friendlier than I had expected.
He finished his bag of pretzels and then aisle man warmed up and offered him his bag. Hum, he was feeling the love… things seemed to be improving between the two of them. A few hours later there were a few more setbacks of negative talk, “I can feel your elbow in my ribs again. And “OH NO…. you just take all the space you need. I’M FINE!” Awkward moments.
Finally, aisle man got up to use the bathroom and we followed him. Man in the middle was quite a gentleman and insisted I go ahead of him. I arrived back at my seat with aisle man and we started a conversation about our travels. I felt guarded in his presence but he was approachable and had softened quite a bit. He wasn’t so bad after all. Our elderly companion joined us and I couldn’t help notice how utterly peaceful and friendly he was, as if any tension between them had never existed.
As the trip progressed the elderly man asked me about my travels and my work and we got into a lengthy discussion about the psychology of color, how different cultures interpret color and Feng Shui. I was amazed at his depth of knowledge especially in the world of Feng Shui. His soft disposition and ability to hold an intelligent conversation struck me. His kind eyes, handsome profile and soft German accent were endearing.
He shared with me that he was 89 years old and originally from Germany and now lived alone in New York. He had never married or had any children. He had just come from visiting friends in San Diego where he lived when he was younger. He mentioned that living by himself was somewhat isolating and he tried to make a point to travel and get out of his comfort zone to experience the world as often as he could. I felt sorry for him that he lived alone with no family especially with the holidays coming up.
A bit later he indulged in a lengthy conversation with aisle man who was reading a literary magazine article and asked for him to share the significance of it. This was the first civilized conversation between the two of them. Aisle man had softened completely. At that point, I realized that they never knew each other, and I was dumbfounded how a stranger could have spoken to another individual in such a demeaning way. I felt my heart further soften for the middle man, and hardening for aisle man. How dare he talk to a sweet old man in such a nasty fashion. I was totally caught up in my state of anger and resentment and wanted to give the aisle man a piece of my mind.
Our plane landed late and the energy in the air felt frazzled as many people were voicing concerns they would miss their connecting flights. I felt protective of my new friend because he had a connecting flight and I wanted to make sure he’d get out of the plane safely and find his connection. He turned to me, smiled and said goodbye and walked down the aisle several people ahead of me.
I was anxious to catch up to him and found him standing at the counter at the top of the gate. I walked up behind him and waited. He asked the flight personnel in his soft voice where to find his connecting gate, but aggressive passengers pushed their way in front of him and the personnel rudely ignored him. I was ready to jump in and help, but they answered him just in nick of time. He turned around and his eyes lit up when he saw me delighted that I had waited for him. As we walked down the corridor, I found myself wanting to complain and gossip about how poorly he was treated by the rude flight personnel, passengers and the jackass sitting next to him. But as I looked at him he seemed utterly peaceful. I realized he had absolutely no animosity towards anyone. He was filled with kindness and love. What was the point in my bringing up the ugliness or holding a grudge? I was the only one clinging onto anger and I let it harden me even though it didn’t happen to me! If he could let it go surely I could. I told him how much I appreciated meeting him and enjoyed our interesting conversations. He concurred and reminded me to keep traveling and experiencing the world.
We arrived at the juncture where we had to say our final goodbyes. Time seemed to stand still, as busy passengers skirted around us. Our eyes locked and I asked him his name. He said Franz and I said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Kristin.” We shook hands and visually acknowledged each other for our time together. He wished me a good life, turned and walked away. I knew I would never see him again and felt a huge lump surface in my throat. I didn’t want him to leave. I felt safe, loved, and peaceful in his presence. Like everything in the world was going to be ok. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was touched by an angel.
As I walked towards my car, I couldn’t get over how emotional I was. Tears streamed down my face. What just happened? I was in the presence of unconditional love and he taught me some profound lessons. Turn the other cheek; kill them with kindness; don’t sweat the small stuff; let go of judgement; resentment; gossip; complaining. Live life to the fullest; enjoy each moment; explore; have fun; engage with people and most importantly spread good vibes of kindness and love to everyone especially those that seem miserable and unkind. They are the ones that need love the most.
I floated into my car glowing from my experience. I pulled up to the parking toll booth to pay my parking ticket. “How are you this evening young lady?”, greeted the friendliest parking attendant I’ve ever met in Philadelphia. I told him I was terrific and he said “Here this is for you.” He reached out his cupped hand and placed 2 tootsie rolls in mine. He told me he only gives them out to super nice people. He calculated my bill and said, “That will be $144.00 please.” “Of course!”, I said with a huge smile on my face. How could it be any other number?