What do you do when you can’t fly?
Dream about flying? Think about flying?
I know: a broken record…
But bear with me.
“Why can’t you fly?” you ask?
Well, I’m stuck in Germany and my bird is in the US (pandemic distancing), and as of now there’s no way I can get to it.
No ETA for a change in travel-regulations, either.
Dream or think?
Dreaming is something one can’t do intentionally – at least I can’t. It kind of happens, sometimes. Not often enough.
Thinking it has to be.
But no matter the dedication to mental effort, no matter the perseverance, it gets old too soon. As I found out.
Five months of “zero-AGL-quarantine” and I ran out of thoughts.
Playing with a flight-sim and a few more youtube videos might bridge another couple of weeks.
Perhaps….
But then?
I was in danger of hitting a dead end, of running into hard IMC.
A profound reorientation, perhaps?
A 180 in search of – even marginal – VMC?
“Plan your next flying-adventure” you suggest?
Well, the plan for my next trip is already done, and for the one after that, as well. Both desperately waiting for execution.
Will I ever be able to realize them?
Back to doubts and desire, back to uncertainty and hope.
Now, I don’t see much sense in complaining. It’s a waste of time and energy and only amplifies frustration.
It is what it is.
And then it ocurred to me: what if I let go of expectations, of fixation on a desired outcome?
No, that doesn’t mean giving up on my plans – no way!
It does mean to give up on a predefined way of pursuing them, and to insist on a very specific result.
Could replacing expectation with curiosity keep me from succumbing to frustration and despair?
“Let’s see how my plans turn out”.
“Let’s see what opportunities open up, what modifications become possible”.
Sounds much more constructive than: “man, why can’t I – how I hate this!”
I feel a lot better, already !
Could (an attitude like) that be a recipe to overcome other (eg. Covid-19 induced) disruptions and frustrations, as well?