Normally, when I fly Southwest,  I usually look for an aisle seat with no one sitting in the middle or window seat.  Since I am usually one of the first to board, that's not difficult.  I sit down and then let fate determine who my seatmates are going to be.  Today, as I was boarding, I scanned the aisle and saw many empty rows of seats.  But as I took one step down the aisle to claim an aisle seat in an empty row, I looked down and saw Leon and Barbara sitting in the second row, Barbara in the window seat and Leon in the aisle seat.  Under normal circumstances I would have just moved on down the aisle, but something told me that I should sit next to them.  And whatever that something was, I am glad it moved me to them. 

We immediately struck up a conversation and a friendship. You could tell by their manner that they were best friends and you could see the love they had for each other in their eyes.  They were wonderful conversationalists.  But more importantly, they were inspirational.  As I got to know them more I found that they had both led wonderful and courageous lives.  Listening to them for the duration of the flight was captivating and insightful. As I talked I found that he too had a passion for writing.  But being in his later years he had kind of shaken it off as a fleeting pipe dream.  But to me, when you have a passion, age does not matter.  And so, I did my best to convince him to pick up the pen once again, and put his ideas, memories, and stories to paper.  I hope he does, because I'm sure that he and Barbara have many wonderful stories to tell that will leave a lasting legacy and touch the hearts of generations to come.  Just from some of the stories they related to me on the plane, I know they have the material for literary brilliance.

When we landed, I wished them both the best of luck, Godspeed, and thanked them for their wonderful companionship.  It was when I left the plane that I finally had my "Aha" moment.  While my words to Leon may have  helped to inspire him and hopefully to fuel his passion for his love of writing, I benefited by simply sitting next to them and getting to know them both.  And as I walked to my next gate to catch my connecting flight, it occured to me that they were really the true inspiration because after meeting them, I couldn't wait to write this wonderful experience in my blog - no more writers block! 

Sometimes we believe that we direct all of our steps - that we are fully in charge of our lives and we make all the decisions regarding our well being.  I can't subscribe to that, because I believe that even though God affords us free will, he sometimes directs  us to where he wants us to be.  Many people might believe that this is just luck - there is no divine intervention. And I have no qualms with that.  Believe what you feel is right.  But we are here living in an tenuous balance and each time it seems that the balance is going to be upset and lead to destructive ways, we always tend to right ourselves.  I just choose to believe that while I am righting myself, God is righting me. 

And so this post is dedicated to Leon and Barabara. Thanks for inspiring me.  May God bless you both.