turbulence | Tuesdays with Laurie

I took this photograph from the passenger window of a Cessna 172. What you see in the cleft between the mountains is not clouds. Rather, it’s smoke from the ongoing Pioneer Fire that’s responsible for burning more than 150,000 acres in southwest Idaho.

Outbound flight from Boise to McCall

When I was in the corporate world I designed and delivered a workshop titled “It’s All About Attitude.” So imagine my surprise on a return flight from breakfast in McCall when we hit turbulence—like a zealous toddler with a balsa-wood airplane—and Len said:

“It’s okay Laurie. I’m going to make a change in attitude, not altitude.”

Len didn’t mean his emotional attitude. When hit by choppy air, if the pilot tries to maintain altitude (the higher/lower aspect), the plane can suffer damage.

If, however, the pilot keeps the attitude of the plane straight and level, you’ll keep flying, get through it, and the plane will remain in tact.

From my perspective, that’s a great analogy for life. Sometimes we encounter turbulence on the journey. When that happens—and it will—it’s important to keep a straight and level attitude. If we do, we’ll keep going, get through it, and remain in tact.

When was your last patch of turbulence?

When our son was a little boy we had a French military box kite. Huge, we’d take it to the shores of Lake Michigan where his little gloved hands would hold the cord spool and the airborne kite would lift him off the ground — him screaming with glee, “more, More, MORE!” — while Len and I held him securely, only letting him rise so far.

Now in the Pacific Northwest, we live within walking distance of Julia Davis Park in Boise, Idaho. One of its many beautiful offerings is the Bloch Cancer Survivor Plaza — a walking plaza created to give hope and courage to newly diagnosed patients, to inspire determination for those who are fighting the disease, and to reduce fear in those who’ve not had cancer. A portion of the plaza includes kite sculptures in perpetual flight.

More than a calm draft or gentle breeze, the key ingredient to a successful kite flight is wind — strong, continuous, and sometimes fierce — to keep it aloft.

Have you encountered triumph through turbulence?

Tuesdays with Laurie

"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

Tag Archives: turbulence

It’s All About Attitude

Go Fly a Kite