Baggage Claim. Michael J.D. Lowery

      

      BAGGAGE CLAIM

      Copyright @ 2012 by Michael A. Lowery

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use without prior written permission of the author —other than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0717-3

      Be sure to check out other titles from Michael Lowery:

      Church on the Black Market

      Well Water Worship I, II & III

      Well Watered Christmas

      Introduction

      Baggage Claim

      On Your Journey through Relationships,

      There is One Place You Must Avoid!

      It is an irrefutable irony; that most of the answers to life's complex questions are often found in the simplest of places. The mysterious is often depicted through the mundane; the profound through the practical. Perhaps it is that way because we are living in this fast-pace-high speed internet-microwaveable culture that has us living, learning, and loving at excessive speeds. It becomes virtually impossible to read the signs as we shoot pass them on our way to another moment of opportunity or possibility. Or, maybe it is because of all the clutter and congestion in our lives causing such a crowd noise that their deafening decibel levels make it difficult to hear the answers calling out from the intercom of experience. Whatever the case, enlightenment usually sub-contracts "an epiphany moment within the ordinary" in order to get our attention. Practically all of us can attest to a moment that struck us so overwhelmingly that it left us catatonically still; frozen under the immersive experience of seeing the flickering light of clarity flashing before our eyes. At that point, a defining moment of wisdom triggers a symphony of thoughts, strung together like the yarn of a sweater weaved by an elderly grandmother knitting, sitting on her front porch. A simple moment produces a cavernous opening so wide that ideas and solutions fly out like caged birds desperately awaiting freedom.

      That is what happened to me as I stood in front of that carousel in Baggage Claim. The flight was, for the most part, uneventful. The long trip was delayed further due to my lost baggage. It was bad enough that I had traveled a great distance in order to bury a loved one. Now, my misery was compounded by airline negligence. I was stuck in a city with no personal items because somehow they didn't load my bags onto my connecting flight. I waited at that carousel for what seemed like hours, until I realized that I needed to go to their office and fill out the appropriate paperwork in order to retrieve my luggage. After another hour spent tracking the bags' whereabouts, I walked out of that office despondent and disgusted. As I glanced at that carousel one last time in some fleeting moment of wishful thinking, I noticed that another crowd of people stood at that same carousel. Just that quickly, the area filled up again and another flight replaced us in Baggage Claim. That's when it hit me; that this entire experience mirrors relationships! I was blown away by the profound parallelisms between flying and relationships; how inextricably linked all of us are in this journey. I saw the mysterious in the mundane; the profound within the practical. I knew that in order to understand how to build healthy relationships, I had to first see life as a journey. That became my starting point! Soon, worlds of wisdom opened up to me as I began seeing arrivals, departures, connections; every component commensurate to flying as a profound metaphor to life and relationships. And because this epiphany came while I stood in Baggage Claim, I clearly understood this area to be the most critical piece to this puzzle. For, if we are to end the cycles of dysfunctional relationships, we must avoid this area of life! If we are to create healthy and wholesome relationships, we absolutely cannot be stuck in some bland repetitive motion of existence. In air travel, baggage is transported by handlers or a crew, and is scanned for hazardous material. In life, baggage is transported mentally, psychologically, and emotionally. They are never scanned, thus the hazard materials of bitterness, un-forgiveness, anger, and regret leak into every relationship until they are contaminated with these toxic elements. And because most people carry baggage into relationships, it's so very difficult to distinguish one bag from the next.

      All of this downloaded within me as I walked through Baggage Claim that night. By the time I arrived at the hotel and retired upon the bed late that evening, I knew that I had a break-through moment that had revolutionized my thinking. I clearly understood that if I was going to make an impact in life, I had to write this book. I had to share my epiphany with the world. I had to let the once-caged birds fly free!

      Chapter 1

      The Journey

      Experience shapes us. Who we are is influenced by the things we've experienced, and what we become is influenced by our responses to them. While genetics play an important role in our overall makeup, experiences are an integral part of our development, and they directly or indirectly influence our decision-making. Experiences act as software uploaded into the hard-drive of our psyche, and they help download our sensitivities, perceptions, passions, and dreams. Any and every experience, even the negative ones, can be turned into a positive depending upon how it's perceived. At best, it can make you better; at worst, it can make you bitter. It is said that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. But even lemonade can be bitter if unsweetened. No! When life hands you lemons, hand them back! We don't have to always accept what life hands us. You never accept mail that doesn't belong to you, do you? You mark, "Return to sender" and send it back! That's what you do to the unacceptable. You don't have to sit around and let life determine what type of life you'll lead. Take the lead in life and don't let life lead you! If all we do is let negativity recycle itself at our expense, then when will the cycles end? They won't end until you end them! In a photo lab, negatives require a dark room in order to develop the images that have been captured. In life, negativity requires the mind to become a darkroom of every negative thought. It is as if the mind has captured a moment of disappointment and failure, and has replayed it beyond the experience, developing into an issue. So even though the experience has passed, the image has been captured as a still photograph in the core of our psyche. It then becomes the torn contact lens through which we perceive everyone and everything we come in contact with. Therefore, the enemy to the next good experience is the last bad one! That photograph then hangs like a "wanted poster" in which you have super-imposed the image of the individual (s) who hurt you. And if anyone comes in contact with you who remotely resembles the profile of your last relationship, then that relationship is destined to tear. So instead of potential mates being prospects, they've become suspects. The tragedy is that there were more wonderful moments that have passed since the bad one that was captured!

      I was taking a picture of my-then-4-year-old daughter Layke- Michal during one of her school performances. While capturing a still photograph, I lowered the camera to inspect the image of the shot I had taken, looking for reassurance that a beautiful moment in that performance had been captured. At that brief moment, while checking the picture on the digital camera, thunderous laughter and applause erupted from the crowd. I looked up only to discover that I missed one of the most adorable, choreographed sequences of the performance. While checking to see if I had captured one moment, I had completely missed another! And while we are busy reflecting on and inspecting one moment that was negative, we are missing out on the positive, beautiful moments that are occurring right in front of us. One thing that is for certain; life promises another moment. However, life doesn't promise you'll be there to see it! Furthermore, life doesn't promise an encore presentation of the opportunity that was missed in those moments. I think the only thing worse than a missed opportunity is standing in the same place expecting a repeat performance!