Yesterday I was taught an invaluable lesson. I arrived in Bermuda from Boston after a week of travel to discover that my luggage did not make the journey with me. And instead of being angry or disappointed about that, I was more disappointed that I did not follow my own instincts. That I did not listen to my own inner compass which was telling me something was amiss.
The night before when I checked in in Chicago, I was told by the curbside check in handler that my bag would be checked right through to Bermuda because I had less than a 12 hour layover. What he was telling me made no sense and I told him so but he was insistent that what he was telling me was true. Still it did not sit well with me for two reasons. Firstly, I had an overnight layover in Boston. Secondly, I was flying to Bermuda on a different airline.
I told the check in handler those facts and he said it did not matter because the rules are the rules. He was very convincing and he even showed me my baggage check claim which showed that my bag would be on the American flight to Boston then the Delta flight to Bermuda the next day. Even though it still did not resonate with me, because he was so convincing and showed me the evidence that what he was saying was true, I believed him.
However as I walked away from my bag sitting by itself on the curbside I had these feelings of unease snaking through my body. My mind telling me to check the baggage carousel when I got to Boston. I shrugged those feeling off as I walked away thinking I was just being paranoid and trying to control situations that were beyond my control.
When the flight landed in Boston, my inner radar again peaked and told me to go to the baggage carousel to make sure my bag was not there but I chose to ignore it thinking I had to trust that others are capable of doing their jobs. Not just me. I walked out of that airport with every sense in my body telling me to go back to the baggage carousel but I was so tired and it was so late that I decided to ignore it.
Through the night I had visions of my bag sitting in the Boston airport unclaimed but again I dismissed them. So when I got back to Bermuda and my bag was not there, I knew I had no one to blame but myself. My inner compass was telling me what to do. My inner voice was screaming at me to check on my bag. My whole body was letting me know that my instincts were right and the check in guy was wrong. But I chose to ignore all the signs that were blatantly obvious to me.
There was no one to blame but myself and I learnt an invaluable lesson. What was reinforced to me was, when we know we always know. No matter how convincing others are. No matter how we don’t want to hurt the feelings of others. We cannot ignore our inner compasses. Our inner voices. Because when we do, we always go down the path that will be the most difficult for us.
And I guess I have been ignoring my inner voice for the longest time now because the Universe chose to show me the power of my inner voice by teaching me a lesson in the simplest and most obvious way through the loss of my luggage. There’s no arguing that fact now. And for this lesson I am truly grateful. I get it Universe. I understand what those symptoms feel like now from this most basic lesson so I will do my best to listen and take heed. That’s only if I want my life to be without struggle of course!
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