The now, the here …
Landing is one of the few moments I feel truly fully present. (Original Photo by Cédric Dhaenens on Unsplash)
Zen
You can’t tame the wave
You can’t tame the wave. All you can do is become part of it. Sebastian Steudtner, big-wave surfer. Article in The Red Bulletin, June 2018. We don’t ‘conquer the sky’. We fly in the air. Beginners think of beating gravity; but the best blend with the weather, groove with gravity, one with the wing. (Original sailplane photo CC0 Public Domain by pxhere.)
Tao Te Ching on microbursts
A strong wing does not blow all morning. A cloudburst does not last all day. The wind and rain are from Heaven and Earth and even these do not last long. How much less so the efforts of man? Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching Quote from Tao Te Ching: The New Translation from Tao Te Ching, The Definitive Edition, translation by Jonathan Star. Picture from the LA Times newspaper, it’s a presidential 747 from a year ago, the Obama’s trying to get to into Palm Springs. Ended up diverting to Riverside’s March ARB http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-obama-palm-springs-20170120-story.html SaveSave
Mindfulness is …
Mindfulness is a word often used, well, mindlessly. But it’s a state that can be described with some precision. The most accepted definition is in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s 1994 book Wherever You Go, There You Are. And it makes the connection to flying very apparent: Here’s a good online article with 19 other definitions: https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/what-is-mindfulness-definition/
Life is denied by …
If you don’t pay attention when you are flying, you miss the things you can do better next time, you miss the things you are doing good, and forget to enjoy the whole thing. Photo is by me, Dave English, on an LAX overnight. Quick Uber ride to Dockweiler Beach and the California home of hang gliding. Perfect geography for learning to soar, to be connected to the wind and the wing.