Day 3,062

Growth:

When traveling I find it so much easier to chill, stay calm, and be totally okay with not being in control of anything outside of the attitude I choose.

I don’t manage the airport, I don’t fly the plane, and I don’t decide how the people around me on the flight act. All I can control is my choice of attitude.

Usually this lack of control leaves me twitching and anxious. When traveling I seem to find a way to flip the switch and go into chill mode. I need to harness this mindset shift more often!

Appreciation:

Flights are such a magical opportunity to have some forced downtime. My options for activities are very much limited.

Today I spent much of the first flight (& the bonus downtime which showed itself as de-icing, a broken de-icing truck, a new de-icing truck, and more de-icing) consolidating all of my favorite passages and notes from New Seeds of Contemplation. Going through my notes to create a short document for each book I read has been something I’ve found huge value in this year, but it always takes a little bit of time to complete. The first flight was almost exactly what I needed to get that done, perfect timing of the forced downtime of the flight! Rather than going completely mindless I was able to create value from that time.

On my next flight I finished reading See You Tomorrow, a deeply moving nonfiction about a young man who disappeared attempting to snowboard Mount Everest. Dominic referred it to me and I’ve been knocking out a handful of pages each night before sleeping. Today I was able to take in the last 2/3’s of it and I enjoyed it immensely. Such a better use of my time than playing a game or watching a movie.

Cheers to using the forced downtime in a positive way!

Presence:

After finishing my notes from New Seeds of Contemplation I put in my AirPods and proceeded to have a wonderfully chill musical meditation. It was awesome!

When Becky and I got to Phoenix she found an incredible restaurant for us to hit for a late lunch. We were both starving, feeling a little wore out from the flights, and that really hit the spot. Nice having excellent conversation with the two of us on vacation and enjoying a delicious meal together!

Thanks!!!