Life at 30k Feet
Views like this never get old. I am consistently in awe of the perspective 30 thousand feet gives me. Even though I’ve logged many hours at this elevation, I find my awe of the view on each flight… sunshine or rain, mountainous or desert terrain… land or city scapes - it doesn’t get old. And that awe, that sense of wonder is what I’m trying to take with me in all the familiar places I enter. Especially this holiday season.
The hustle and bustle of holidays I love. Always have. And those times of intense connection were also draining for me. But what if I looked at those rooms of people, that familiar view at zero thousand feet, with the same frame of awe as I do at 30 thousand feet? Awe of the science that allows us to be together with ease? Awe at the ever aging faces and full lives in front of me? Awe that we are all still choosing to show up after all these years of life? Awe at the new life and new recipes?
What if I reach for my childlike wonder lens rather than my adulthood “I know what’s going to happen” lens? Makes me feel merrier just considering the possibility of that. And… I’ve got experts around me to support that lens of wonder - my five little great nieces who are 0-4 years old. They are wonder senseis.
I have never fully embraced the joy of travel. I am passionate about different cultures, geographies, sites around the world. But I’ve never had the same love for the travel process required to get me around the world. I’m grateful for it all, but not energized by it and I’m wondering how to change that.
Travel today has its own list of challenges. And as I see my travel log for 2022 already lining up, I don’t want to be a bullet on that list for myself. Perhaps a beginners mindset can be applied here. Perhaps choosing wonder at zero thousand feet can reopen my awe bucket and let some ease in between 0 and 30 thousand feet.
Rental cars and airports, hotels and client offices are all filled with their own awe. I experience awe daily in spaces with my clients, and now I’m going be searching for it every where. And just like that, I’ve got even more energy for the year of travel ahead.
