In the Flow
By Leslie Sann
This is the day the Lord hath made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.~ Psalm 118
I’ve dreamed of going on a balloon ride for years. This spring, I realized I use hot air balloon images as a banner on the webpage for my Lift Up classes, and I’ve still not been up in one. I decided to research companies. It seems a bot captured my information because I received a text at 2:30 PM on a Saturday:
Midwest Ballooning Adventures: We have openings available for a hot air balloon shared sunset flight this evening, Saturday, if you are available. Meeting in Huntley at 3:45pm. The first response takes it.
I was out for a walk when the text landed. I didn’t know if I could do it. I immediately thought, “Oh no, eek, maybe, yes!” I turned around and headed for the car and my home. I kept taking the next action, including replying to the text. The spot was still there; I was given the address and discovered I could make it to the site on time. It was just a 20-mile drive from my home.
They set up the balloon in the middle of a farmer’s field. We were six passengers, a pilot and a copilot. So that’s eight of us. Yes, it was tight and everybody had an edge to look out over the landscape.
It was a delightful experience. We were in the flow, letting the air take us. We were airborne for 50 minutes, which felt like days. A profound sense of peace enveloped us. Despite being tightly packed in the basket, the quietness and expanse of space around us were striking. The experience lifted us in many ways. Not only were we 2800’ above the ground, our spirits were elevated.
We landed about eight miles from our starting point. The chase vehicle arrived within minutes. We celebrated our adventure with a champagne toast, a tradition originating in France, where ballooning began.
The pilot’s influence was limited to up or down. The wind’s current did all the rest. There was a sense of ease moving in the flow and letting the air take us. The flow is the flow, and it goes where it goes. It was joyous being in that movement.
Life, like the wind, is bigger than I am. Something greater has me. I am being breathed. What if I could be more in flow, choosing what is possible and discovering what happens next? What if I could come to life with the ease and joy I experienced on that balloon adventure? What choices would I make to live that?
Hmmm…
Blessings and Joy,
