Life, Death, and Plane Crashes
Last week, on a cold foggy night in
Buffalo, New York, Continental Flight 3407 suddenly spiraled down
into a fiery crash five miles from its destination.
The plane, for those of you who might not know, crashed on its
final approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport about 10:20
that dark foggy night in Buffalo. Fifty people died, including all
passengers and crew members, plus one man on the ground.
The sad events in Buffalo had a particularly poignant personal
meaning for me. The next night, as I read about them, my thoughts
carried me back to a time long ago, to what seemed like another
lifetime in a dim and distant past.
I grew up in a small farm town on the shores of Lake Erie just
west of Buffalo. In my younger years I worked in the aviation
industry, including a short stint as an air traffic controller in
Buffalo. I was also a pilot with Colgan Air of Manassas, Virginia,
the commuter operator of the Continental Airlines plane that crashed
that night at Buffalo. Though I was a Colgan pilot many years ago, I
still know people in the company.
So my personal "coincidental" connections to this event
were curious and mystifying. What was it all about? Was there some
cosmic meaning in all this for me?
I don’t fear death, and rejoice when someone I love dies,
because I know they’ve gone Home and are happy in their new lives.
In fact, we wrote an
article several weeks ago about the death of a close
friend of mine.
But this seemingly catastrophic plane crash got me thinking again
about life and death, and what it’s all about.
Even though I know there are no "accidents" and death
is not the end of us, that night I felt an overwhelming sadness,
something I rarely experience these days. I just wanted someone here
to talk to.
Of course, I always have Chief Joseph. But that night I wanted
someone in the flesh here with me. I felt lonely, something else I
almost never feel at this point in my life, even though I’ve lived
alone many years.
Last weekend I did talk to Chief Joseph. Here’s what he/they
said.
Chief Joseph
Any events out of what you consider "ordinary" are
often difficult, even painful, for you. The Buffalo crash is
certainly one of those.
It gives you pause to think about what your US President Barack
Obama, in response to the crash, said about "the fragility of
life."
Your physical lives certainly appear fragile to you. And if you
die young or by "accident" you consider it tragic. Yet it
is not. All is as it should be.
John, as he explained, was deeply saddened by the events at
Buffalo, especially because of his personal connections to the
events. He also said death holds no fear for him, and that’s true.
What was going on with him was this: He was "tuning
in," if you will, to the human drama of that night. He was
viewing, from his human perspective, the pain, the grief, the anger
of the families and friends of the crash "victims."
Of course, there are no victims. Every person who died that night
had decided, on some level of their awareness, it was time for them
to return to Spirit. They are all fine, and happy now.
Yet the human drama remains. And, of course, the human survivors,
the families and friends, remain -- many, if not all, of them, in
intense pain.
But it is useless for you to take on another’s pain as John
did. In fact, you cannot take it on. But what you can and
often do is to observe the pain of others and then, in your
observance, create your own pain.
That, friends, does neither you nor those you wish to help any
good whatsoever. You are useless, of no value to those in
pain and suffering if you also are in pain and suffering.
The best thing you can do is to do whatever it takes to return to
that place of peace and power within you. To do whatever it takes to
be happy -- and to find joy in even these seemingly tragic
circumstances.
As John implied, those fifty souls decided to die, and now they
are far happier than most of those who remain behind.
It took John a couple of days to realize his sense of sadness and
loneliness were of no use to him, and certainly not to any of the
people in the crash or to their human survivors.
It is only from your internal place of connection with the peace
and power of who you really are that you are empowered to help
others. You cannot take on their pain, but you can help them regain
their sense of joy. You can help them regain that sure knowing that
all truly is well.
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This
Week's
Newsletter Reflection Questions
News Updates
1) Tuning In,
a brand-new spiritual
movie featuring some of today's prominent channels and their spirit
guides, including Chief Joseph and me, has been released.
It's now available to the
public. Get
more information and order your copy here. Watch the trailer
(short video preview) here.
2) We're now doing regular
podcasts with Chief Joseph.
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