Hey Reader,
Let me take you on a little cosmic moment the universe decided to throw at me. And with Thanksgiving this week, it was cause for some reflection.
I’m sitting in the airport — which, for the record, is not my natural habitat.
I don’t go there to make friends.
I don’t go there to chit-chat.
I go there to survive the experience.
Half the time I’m wearing headphones with nothing playing because silence + “please don’t talk to me” energy is a sacred combo.
So imagine my surprise when a woman plops down right next to me.
Like… RIGHT next to me.
Plenty of other seats. Wide open space. And she picks that one.
Sure, our gates were next to each other — but ma’am… proximity is not permission.
We do not have to be shoulder-to-shoulder until the boarding group demands it.
And then… she starts talking to me.
My inner Massachusetts nearly jumped out and unionized.
She holds up her wrist and goes,
“Does this smell good? I just got it at duty-free — I used to work in the industry and this was a GREAT price. I don't know if I should go back and buy it.”
So now I’m sniffing this stranger’s wrist in Terminal B.
And I’ll admit — the perfume was actually decent.
Which, unfortunately, opened the conversational floodgates.
Then my mom calls.
And OF COURSE my Italian mother immediately bonds with this Greek woman like they’ve shared a childhood.
So guess who has to keep talking when I hang up?
Yup.
And then it gets real.
She tells me she survived a rare Stage 4 cancer with a trial drug.
Then a brain aneurysm.
Then promised God she’d quit smoking — and kept it.
And here’s where the Divine timing flexed:
The night before, my former Brainspotting instructor, (who I was able to meet for dinner because the stars had aligned) gave me a vergence technique to help one of my current clients who’s also dealing with an aneurysm, along with anxiety and overwhelm in situations.
Basically… the exact combination this woman was describing.
So there I was, teaching vergence to a stranger in the airport — the tool she didn’t know she needed — right before her flight boarded.
And the moment she walked away?
My gate changed.
Alright, God.
I hear you.
Message received.
Thanksgiving Reflection...
We move fast this time of year — travel, schedules, family chaos, work deadlines — and blow past so many moments without realizing the meaning tucked inside them.
This inconvenient, unexpected little airport interaction ended up being a reminder I apparently needed:
Sometimes connection shows up exactly when you’re trying to avoid it.
Sometimes you're handed the right conversation at the right time — whether you feel like participating or not.
And maybe that’s the real Thanksgiving energy this year:
Not forced gratitude…
but gratitude for timing.
For alignment.
For the weird little intersections that pull you back into presence.
Nervous System Regulation Tip: Vergence
(The Airport-Approved Reset)
Here’s the exact tool I taught her — and it’s stupidly simple but incredibly effective.
Vergence helps downshift your nervous system by toggling your visual focus between near and far.
Here’s how to do it:
- Hold your finger 12–16 inches from your face.
- Focus on it for 5 seconds.
- Then shift your gaze to something 6–10 feet away for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 5 times. Take a break and do it again for about a minute at a time until you feel calm settling in.
Why it works:
Your eyes are part of your threat-detection system.
When you alternate near/far focus, you open your vagus nerve and send your brain a clear message:
“We’re not in danger — you can stand down.”
Use it when:
- anxiety spikes
- overwhelm hits
- your chest tightens
- you’re overstimulated in public
- you need a quick reset
- Aunt Patty, who only comes over for the holidays, is stirring shit again or...
- someone sits a little too close in Terminal B
Airport and family gathering tests. Nervous-system approved.
Final thought:
Follow the hunch.
Follow the timing.
Follow the weird moment you absolutely didn’t plan for.
And maybe...perhaps...just maybe...not be as anti-social as I was at the airport. As I've mentioned in a previous newsletter, we're social beings that rely on meaningful connection - we're not quite as introverted as we claim, and we may miss out on some beautiful moments if we close ourselves off too often.
You never know who you’re meant to help — or how the universe is quietly rearranging things on your behalf.
See you next Wednesday - and as always, if you liked this, forward it to a friend so they can join the fam too.
Happy Thanksgiving,
- Renae