First Flight...

"Be like a hot air balloon.
Ignore the negativities,
Ignite the fire within, 
Rise up against all the odds,
Fly in your sky of dreams!!"
  - Vidhya -

Have you ever been in a hot air balloon?  Ever seen one take off, fly, and land?  Ever wondered at the grace and impossibility of it all?

I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico - the hot air balloon capital of the world - and spent every October squealing with delight and amazement at the 100's of hot air balloons that filled the sky for one week.  Imagine:  you arrive 45 minutes before first light, cold, bleary eyed, disoriented.  All around you see flat earth and a bunch of trucks.  As you wander around you see the trucks begin to unload, unpack, and begin set up.  First you have to lay the balloon out very carefully (untangle the lines), then you begin filling it with air from a HUGE fan.  There comes a special moment (and I don't know how they know when that moment is) where they grab the basket, fire up the flame and point it inside the balloon and as you stand there, this rainbow of brilliant colors rises up and expands - ready to head skyward.  They attach the basket, finish all the preparations (get everything packed up for chase), and as dawn peaks over the mountains there is sudden silence and then - liftoff of 100's of balloons in waves.  It is glorious!

You literally hold your breath and suddenly, everything in the world seems small and unimportant.  It is flight.  It is flight without much control.  Flight that follows where the wind blows.  Flight that has no idea where it will land, but that's okay because you are in the air in a contraption that makes no sense at all.

Dreams are like this.  You can only prepare so much - laying things out, putting things into place, getting ready.  But there comes a point, and you will know (it's different for everyone) when you put the fire in your dream and it begins to unfurl its rainbow of color.  You take a deep breath and then you take flight into the unknown.  You might end up here or there or somewhere you never dreamed but YOU ARE FLYING!

"When once you have tasted flight you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward.  For there you have been and there you will long to return. "   - Leonardo da Vinci -

You have spent all winter preparing.  You have removed all the obstructions you can.  You have prepared and prepared and now is the time.  What are your dreams?  How can you take flight?  Do you need to just drop those sandbags and liftoff?


"What if I fall?  Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?"  - Erin Hanson -
There is no better time than now my friend.  Release those lines holding you bound to earth.  Take a deep breath and believe.  No matter where the wind takes you - it will be glorious!

See you on the mat!
Aprille