Panama City: YES, it Counts!! (June 24, 2026)
Believe it or not, Panama City was on my original list. I had a coach friend who offered for me (and for Violet) to stay with her. But plans change and we roll with it. Suffering comes from expecting our reality to be anything other than it is. This time around was not my time to spend a week in Panama City. I trust it will happen when the timing is right.
But TODAY, I visit … wait for it … allow for the drumroll … Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport (PTY). Jealous?
That’s right. But here’s the thing. Just like when I stopped over in Doha (see related post), I’m on a rare business class flight so I get the VIP treatment during my relatively short stay. That’s right, I’m in the LOUNGE, baby! Woo Hoo!
I know this is an airport sign with plans, but I love it. It’s speaks to me.
Today, I was showered with an outpouring of love notes from so many friends all around the world welcoming me back (see related post). What I love is the ability to witness all the continued outpouring of love and kindness that finds me throughout my day. Even as I head home, I’m still receiving amazing support from this global community. And I get to experience all this love and support from Panama.
I’m enjoying the last souvenir I plan on picking up on this trip.
Echo Chamber Heard in Panama
I shared my last post with a number of friends and many of them took the time to reach out to me welcoming me back home. Love begets more love. Joy begets more joy. I send out a post about Joy is an Inside Job (see related post) and what I get back is more joy.
From texts to WhatsApp messages to voice texts and audio files, my head is spinning from the deep love I’m experiencing as I return home. Even that is surreal. After traveling the world for a year, I feel like I’m at the tail end of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. I can never return the same man who left Port Washington, New York a year ago. What’s different is that I don’t just intellectually “know” this, I feel it in every fiber of my being. I am a changed man. I love it.
View from the plane as we began our descent into Panama City
My heart leads where my head used to. I trust my gut and deeply listen to my own somatic experiences. I welcome the sage advice and wise council of others. And when something feels “off,” I lean in and pay deeper attention … to the messages my body is sending me in the moment. I trust me. Specifically, I trust my inner knowing in a way that I’ve never experienced like this before.
I’ve always felt guided, but this is different. I intuitively know what to say and do without effort.
In my morning meditation this morning, I was visited by two beautiful souls. The first was my aunt Ann-Marie – the mother of my cousin Elaine Carmody. She thanked me for my loving kindness exchanged with Elaine yesterday and then handed me a ball of light. I instantly recognized it as the light of truth. When I placed it into my heart, it was like I “leveled up” in a video game. Boom.
And just when I didn’t think it could get any better, my late minister, Reverend Doctor Natalie Fenimore (see related post) put her hands on my head and granted me a deep desire I’ve had for the past year – to connect more deeply with the spirit world. In that moment, my minister was helping me continue to remove the barriers I’d previously placed to “protect” myself from my previous always-on connection to God. I was moved to tears. It was wonderful.
Then, I was in the airport in Santiago, Chile, and a jacket caught my eye. My bag is already stuffed to the brim and I laughed because there’s absolutely no need for another jacket. But this one from Chile was exquisite and kept calling to me. So I gave in and bought it. It was only after I had purchased the jacket that I experienced why I took that action. This jacket wasn’t for me. It’s to be given to someone else. I’m simply transporting it from Santiago, Chile back to New York for its intended owner. Who will be revealed in time. So I listen. I trust. And I’m excited to discover for myself who is the owner of this beautiful jacket. And it all makes sense again.
I’m sharing these examples because I feel a bit like I’m floating through the world right now. It’s how I imagine it might be for a spirit who is taking one final look at all this beauty in the world before continuing on. My heart is as light as a feather. If the god Anubis would measure my heart on the scale opposite the feather of truth, I have no doubt I would be welcomed in.
So yeah, I’m going home and it may be a bit disorientating as I re-enter my previous life in Port Washington, New York. I return with more than I ever dreamed possible. This trip was exactly what I needed at precisely the time I needed it. I am vibrating at the frequency of love and fully appreciate that this has always been available to me. I needed to go inside myself to discover what has always been inside of me.
And now I am curious how best to “Pass on what I have learned” as the great poet Yoda has encouraged us to do with our deep wisdom. Supporting even one soul to feel the way I do today would be worth everything. I’m sure I will discover the best path as my journey continues to unfold. As long as I continue feeling and experiencing this deep love, I know I will discover where I’m supposed to be and how I may be of best use as a servant leader.
I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Tony Robbins, who reminded me that, “the quality of your life is inversely proportional to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably live with.” In other words, embrace the uncertainty. Love it. Lean into it.
The beautiful unfolding of life’s mystery is one of the greatest gifts in this lifetime. I await this discovery of what life has in store for me as an eager 5-year-old on Christmas morning. I don’t know what’s in those presents life has in store for me, and I eagerly await the slow unwrapping of each gift. The key difference is that I wish to savor each moment with each reveal today instead of tearing through all of them at once as I did as a child. Slowing down has unlocked so much for me this year. I need not hurry back towards anything. All will be revealed in time. I really do trust that all of this incredible life adventure is happening FOR me (not TO me).
May you feel as much love as I do this and every day. And remember, Love, like Joy, is an inside job. Everything begins with you and how you treat yourself. As you deeply love yourself, so will you feel the deep desire to share this love with everyone. Have fun!
