Hello, are you there?

I recently returned home from an amazing finale and graduation weekend of Michael Neill’s Supercoach Academy. During this nine month program, I had the opportunity to take a deep dive into understanding the human operating system. And learned how to share that with clients within a transformative conversation.

And then, on the way home, at the airport terminal, I lost my phone.

At least for a couple of hours, that’s what I believed to be true.  And therein lies the adventure. And the opportunity to observe the system at work.

A little before boarding, I became aware that I couldn’t find my phone. I went back to the seat in the terminal where I was using it. No, not there. There will be more time to dig for it on the plane.

Apologizing to the passengers to my left and right for my excessive fumbling, I dug through my many compartmented Swiss Army backpack which contained my many compartmented purse. No, definitely not there.

The lady next to me offered to call.  No, not hearing or feeling anything. Clearly, not there. It’s official. I lost my phone in the LAX airport, gate 11A.

Hmmm… okaaay.

Here’s what I heard. “iPhone 4 is so 2013 anyway, could it be it’s time to upgrade? Will be interesting not being able to text my ride home from the airport. I’ll figure it out when I get there. I’m good now. Time to read.” That’s it? Yup, pretty much.

I just wasn’t getting worked up about it. I was more interested in whether I would finish my Kindle book before landing given the short flight home. Crazy huh? Shouldn’t I be worrying? Planning and figuring out my strategy? At the very least, obsessing a little?

I lost my third arm, but it was the electronic one, so not an emergency.  I knew that I would know what to do when the time came for me to do something. That seemed like all I needed for the moment. It was a nice feeling.

After deplaning, I found myself heading to the nearest counter and asking them to contact the gate in L.A. to request they look for it. Southwest Air was very helpful.

How to communicate with my ride home? I wasn’t sure if pay phones still existed and didn’t think I even had coins, whatever the cost. Do pay phones take credit cards?

I asked to use the phone at the Southwest counter.  My husband seemed genuinely disturbed with regard to my lost phone. I was struck by it, because I was still amazingly calm.  He was able to text my friend who was waiting for me in the airport parking lot.

First steps. All figured out.

I confess to itchy hands while waiting for my luggage. I should text, I should call, I should check. No phone, sigh. Nothing to do. Feels free. Nice.

My lost phone was front page news when I got in the car. Based on her recent experience with breaking a phone, my friend was concerned. I was happy to be back and see my son feeling good and realized the lesson here was that it might be a good idea to lock it with a password.

At home, just before heading to the computer for “find my phone”, my friend volunteered to give it another call. Just in case. Maybe someone at the airport would answer it.

Low and behold, I felt a vibration in the bottom of my backpack. My phone was nestled in an easy to fall out of place that was not really a compartment. I would not be heading to the phone store anytime soon.

In reflection….

There was never a point when I didn’t know what to do.

I could have freaked out and spent the entire flight worrying about the implications of a lost phone and mentally planning a course of action.  And perhaps judging myself for being careless.

I didn’t try not to do that. I just didn’t do that.

My experience could have gone in many directions because it wasn’t really about my lost phone. It was about my thoughts about my lost phone.  In this case, I had less of them.

The settled down ness I experienced most of the academy weekend seemed to be a lingering state of mind for me. And from that place, I knew, really knew, that wisdom is always there and available. That knowing created a sense of inner calm.

This calm state enabled me to relax on the flight home and enjoy the last hour or so of my time off. Freedom.

It seems counter intuitive, but the less I step in to micromanage or overthink my way to a solution, the clearer the voice of my intuition. And then I know the next step.

During what could have felt like a crisis, I experienced a state of flow.

Many people have asked me what I learned during the intensive Supercoach. The learning has been less intellectual and more on a deep knowing level. I keep seeing things I had not seen before. And with that, I experience life differently.

The aperture through which I view the world has expanded. And as that happens, I experience more of the grace of life and the space of possibility.