A few weeks ago, my wife and I flew home for the holidays to catch up with our families in Connecticut.
To avoid the chaos of La Guardia or JFK, we typically fly into White Plains - a tiny municipal airport with easy access for pickup/drop-off and minimal traffic.
But small airports mean small planes, and small planes mean a higher chance of dealing with some turbulence. 😰
Sometimes we get lucky with it, and sometimes we don't.
And on this particular trip, we got hit with a pretty bumpy ride on the way back to LA.
Now...
For some people, the risk of turbulence is enough to avoid flying completely.
For others, it's unpleasant - but worth tolerating for the convenience of traveling long distances quickly.
And for some people, turbulence goes completely unnoticed on a flight.
Which made me wonder...
Why do people experience something like turbulence so differently from one another?
Then, I remembered a story my parents shared with me about a particularly bumpy flight we had on one of our family vacations when I was still a toddler.
We'd hit turbulence that was so intense that as our plane jolted, passengers were practically lifted from their seats.
Travelers were gasping in fear, white-knuckling their seats and shutting their eyes tightly.
But as for me?
I was raising my arms high, smiling widely, and shouting "Wa-HOOO!" through the flight like I was riding the coolest rollercoaster ever.
I was having the time of my life. 🎢
Now, sure...
You could chalk it all up to the "innocence of youth".
You could say that if I'd been "old enough" to know the sense danger everyone felt, then I wouldn't have been quite so giddy about that turbulence.
But I think there's more to it.
The reason I was having so much fun while others weren't was because consciously or not, I'd made a choice to enjoy the experience for what it was.
I wasn't trying to hopelessly control how smoothly we were flying, or wishing the ride was calmer.
I wasn't preparing to leave a scathing 1-star review of the airline the second our plane touched the ground.
Quite the opposite...
Toddler Zach embraced turbulence with a smile. 😁
At this point, you might be wondering why I'm sharing all of this with you.
Here's my point:
Right now, there's something in your life that you desperately want to change that's out of your control.
Maybe you're tired of long hours and low pay, but need to stick with it a while longer.
Maybe you yearn for more imagination and creativity in your life, but are swamped with other things.
Maybe your art just isn't meeting your standards no matter how hard you try, and it's going to be a while before you're pleased.
Whatever it is, it's got you feeling powerless and uncomfortable - kind of like heavy turbulence on a long flight.
Odds are that unlike turbulence, you can change this situation - but not instantly.
So...
You can white-knuckle your way through it, gasping at every unexpected bump.
Or...
You can take your situtation as an opportunity to practice loosening your grip and doing your best to enjoy the ride for what it is.
Because once you can smile wide, raise your hands high, and shout "Wa-HOOO!" through turbulence in life...
You'll be at your destination before you know it. 🏖️
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That's all for now!
Leave a reply to share your thoughts, questions, or just to say hi.
(I love hearing from my readers. 🙂)
Otherwise, happy music-making and I'll see you next time!
- Zach
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