“I don’t have to make the crowd go wild or get a standing ovation. Good enough means that I finally enjoy playing the game.” ― Jenni Schaefer
My friend, Jay, an amazing life coach and cherished member of my possibility posse, told a funny story that perfectly illustrates the current Course section, “What is the World?”
The day before he was flying to California to give a presentation, he tried to check in to his flight online. He entered the confirmation number several times and was puzzled that the airline website kept insisting there was an error.
“Oh well,” he was busy, had lots of things to wrap up and finally figured. “I’ll just check in tomorrow at the airport.”
Next day at the kiosk, he got the same message. Finally, with less than an hour until his flight, he stormed up to Delta desk and demanded “What’s the deal?”
The attendant took one look at his ticket and said, “Oh that’s a United confirmation number.”
United, for those who don’t know the Kansas City airport, is in a completely different terminal. He had to catch a bus to get there.
Jay’s perception about his airline tickets, like so many of our perceptions about the world, are false.
We literally make up a story (I’m on Delta) and proceed to go to the wrong terminal. As the Course says, that’s when the mechanisms of illusion are born and from those illusions, we create a world to match.
The world we currently see revolves around a story of not being quite good enough. Our bodies aren’t quite good enough. Our finances aren’t quite good enough. Our relationships aren’t quite good enough. Our careers aren’t quite good enough. Nothing is ever quite good enough. And as long as that’s our perception, false though it may be, that’s the reality we create. That’s the terminal we live in.
The Course is like the attendant who kindly pointed out that Jay was basing his thoughts (and therefore assumptions and actions) on a false perception.
Once he let that go, he easily caught a bus to a different terminal where his plane was waiting.
ACIM Lesson 241 says today is a time of special celebration. Because in this very moment, we can let the false perception go. We can leave the terminal of separation, the one that claims nothing’s quite good enough, and catch a free bus to the terminal where errors vanish, false perceptions disappear and everything is perfect in every way.
Pam Grout is the author of 19 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, Art & Soul,Reloaded: A Year-Long Apprenticeship to Summon the Muses and Ignite Your Daring, Audacious, Creative Side.
12 Responses
I love this illustration. So simple yet so profound. How many times have I been in the wrong terminal but did not find out until my plane had left. I will start “checking in” earlier thanks to you.
Thank you for helping me see this in such a meaningful way.
Hi Pam,
I’ll definitely take that bus ride.
Thank you very much.
Blessings to all,
Mike Stilninovich
Even though I’m currently on the same bus I take every day to get me to the train station I will pretend it’s the “free bus that takes me to the terminal where errors vanish, false perceptions disappear and everything is perfect in every way.” YES!! Thanks Pam! 😁
brilliant
Thank you Pam!
I have made similar mistakes many times, which is why I have repeatedly stated that “It is not what I don’t know that hurts me, but what I know.” Now I think I will add that it is what I know which is wrong, which is my grandest illusion.
Thanks for the giggles. I just picked up my son and his ex-wife at the airport this afternoon for a 10 day visit and read this to them. They laughed too. I’ve been in a close situation at the wrong gate when something vibrated in my body and I started to look around. Turns out, I was at the wrong gate and they were almost done loading my flight. My view of the world was really off there. Great, great example. I loved today’s lesson though I will have to work a bit at digesting it. Thanks.
As today is the anniversary of Dr Wayne Dyers passing, I just listened to a video of a previously recorded lecture he gave, in which he recited a very poignant quote by Mark Twain which states, ” The thing that gets you into trouble isn’t what you don’t know, It’s what you know for sure that just isn’t so…” To now read this lesson, seems fitting that twice within less than an hour I have received the same message and seems I need to pay attention. Always Love
Hey Wes, Thought of you this morning when I read this and wondered if it might help you. Change your thoughts, change your world. See yourself as your mom does! Awesome in every way. Xo mom
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Love your posts always Pam!! The flying bus is a great image that takes us out of current reality and I love it!! Who’s image is that? May I use it? I want to give credit for the work—- Hugs and love, Lyrae
I showed up at the airport a whole day early for a flight about 30 years ago. Everything worked out in my favor and the airlines changed my ticket so I could fly out that day at no additional charge. I’m remembering now that I’ve been taking the free bus for quite awhile. Thank you for continuing the blog as I’m still loving it!
Dear Pam. Please send me your daily posts again. I’ve received nothing since 29 August 2018. They do really help me, especially now that I am digging really deep into my kernel core of joy in the midst of surface life challenges.
Blessings
Arien van der Merwe from South Africa.