Monday, March 9, 2015

Post 60: Any Landing


Harrison Ford's plane crash last week reminded me of one of my all-time favorite sayings:
Any landing you walk away from is a good landing. 

Thanks to the WWII pilot who gave me that advice, I've felt much better about any number of crashes, including heart-rending relationships, broken trusts and disappointing business deals. I've also used the line as reassurance after a dangerously stupid lane change at 70 miles per hour.

Any landing you walk away from is a good landing.

As I approach 60, I'm still walking. On the journey, I've found a few mantras that keep me moving in the right direction. For example ...

Look up. 
Whenever we took a family vacation, or just went on an adventure in downtown KC, Mom would urge me and Harry and Eva to look up. Why? Because if you don't look up, you miss the gargoyles on the old buildings. You miss the cloud that looks like a tiger. You miss the stoplight turning red, and step in front of cars. (Any landing you walk away from ...)

Everyone needs a little sweets.
Ah, that was from my grandmother. We all need a little sweets and that needs no explanation. She also told me that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. And that men were like buses -- not to worry when one pulls away, there'll be another one along in a few minutes. She was right on all counts.

Breathe in. Breathe out. 
I'm sensing a trend here. My mantras come from the women in my life. Breathe in. Breathe out. is a Kate-ism. She started telling me this years ago, when I was so busy trying to do everything -- and perfectly -- that I was too stressed to do anything well. She was 10 and had more sense than I did. But, I did have enough sense to listen. Put your own oxygen mask on first.

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. 
This one came from Confucius, and I'm not quite old enough to have heard it from him personally. However, Mom and Dad used to say basically the same thing all the time: If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.

While breathing, of course. And possibly enjoying a little sweets.

Sidenote for those of you just joining the fun: Post 60 is a digression on the Creative Instigation blog, part of my 60th year celebration. This is post 7 of the 60. Party on!



2 comments:

CJ Kennedy said...

Excellent bits of advice. I'v also added a new one one of the Reiki principles: Just for today, I will not worry.

Jan said...

That's excellent! Reminds me of this great quote I saw on Facebook this morning: "If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today." E. Joseph Cossman