Flying and Feeling Free

"Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings."

~Victor Hugo

This past weekend, my daughter and I were taken on an hour long flight in a Piper Cherokee as a gift for her 13th birthday. The little plane looks like the sports car of planes with four small seats in the tiny cockpit. If it really was a sports car, I could easily picture myself enjoying the drive down the California coast, the top down, the wind blowing through my hair and a beautiful view of the ocean.

I don't have a fear of flying, but seeing that small plane and never having been in one before made me a little nervous. I have been facing quite a number of fears in the last few years and a couple of things I have learned: First, fear robs one of their joy and second, if you don't face a fear, the universe is compassionate enough to give you another chance. 

 

It seems that the more I face my fears, the more strong and capable I feel and the more fun I have. It has also become apparent to me that facing my fears shows me that whatever threat the fear is sounding it's alarm about, doesn't really exist. 

 

The flight was smooth, the weather and views were breathtakingly beautiful. The feeling of soaring was inspiring. I love the feeling of freedom I had in the air and the shift of perspective when I looked down upon the ground. I loved the look on my daughter's face as she turned around to face me from the cockpit.

When I face my fears, I am free to enjoy whatever is happening to the fullest. Thus the joy in my entire life is fuller, richer. I am free because my attention is fully on what I am experiencing and not split between my experience and my worries.We had so much fun on our flight! I would have really hated to miss it. These days I am more concerned about missing my opportunities to have a new experience than to be "safe".

Our pilot walked my daughter through checking the plane out during pre-flight and showed her the instruments in the cockpit. Then he let her fly for a few minutes. What an experience for a 13 year old girl to have! I try to teach my daughter to go for the adventure, letting her know all the time that she can fly in whatever area she wants. It's important to do the things your heart wants to do just because you want to do them. It's equally, if not more, important to find out that you are immensely capable of doing the things your heart wants to do.

Amelia Earhart said, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself." She also said,

"The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one's appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship."

 Happy Soaring,