-by Jaime Willis
Good Morning from sunny Albuquerque! I have been in New Mexico since Thursday and am thoroughly enjoying myself. Yesterday, I had a wonderful experience - my first hot air balloon ride.
My group and I went up with Troy Bradley of Rainbow Ryders. We were so fortunate to get Troy as our pilot, as he is one of the most experienced balloon pilots in the world and has set many records for his flying. If you are ever in Phoenix or New Mexico, please look up Rainbow Ryders - you won't be disappointed.
As we were preparing to launch our balloon, Troy went through some of the ballooning basics with us.
"I have complete control of the vertical ascent and descent of our balloon," he said. "I can also use these two ropes to spin the balloon around so we can all share the view."
"What I don't have control of is our horizontal direction. We'll go where the wind takes us, using our ascents and descents to change our speed and direction."
At first, that seemed pretty crazy to me. We are going up in the air and will have no idea where we're going to land --- how far away and in what direction from our launch site. I wanted us to have more control of what was happening!
I realized, though, that this was a perfect metaphor for our lives. We cannot control everything either (trust me, I've tried!) We control our own direction and focus as best we can using the skills and abilities we have to get where we are going. We constantly adjust our speed and course correct based on what is going on in our lives at that time.
And, most of all, we ALWAYS have control of our outlook. Just like Troy could spin the balloon around to point us in the direction of the Rio Grande or the Rocky Mountains, we too can choose to focus our outlook in a way that serves us best. Just because the wind is not going in the right direction or at the right speed for you, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the view.
Do you need to turn your balloon around this morning to change your view? Are you using the controls you do have to stay on track?
"It is so often true that whether a person carries with him an atmosphere of gloom and depression or one of confidence and courage depends on his individual outlook." -James Keller
Good Morning from sunny Albuquerque! I have been in New Mexico since Thursday and am thoroughly enjoying myself. Yesterday, I had a wonderful experience - my first hot air balloon ride.
My group and I went up with Troy Bradley of Rainbow Ryders. We were so fortunate to get Troy as our pilot, as he is one of the most experienced balloon pilots in the world and has set many records for his flying. If you are ever in Phoenix or New Mexico, please look up Rainbow Ryders - you won't be disappointed.
As we were preparing to launch our balloon, Troy went through some of the ballooning basics with us.
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| Troy Bradley, Balloon Pilot |
"I have complete control of the vertical ascent and descent of our balloon," he said. "I can also use these two ropes to spin the balloon around so we can all share the view."
"What I don't have control of is our horizontal direction. We'll go where the wind takes us, using our ascents and descents to change our speed and direction."
At first, that seemed pretty crazy to me. We are going up in the air and will have no idea where we're going to land --- how far away and in what direction from our launch site. I wanted us to have more control of what was happening!
I realized, though, that this was a perfect metaphor for our lives. We cannot control everything either (trust me, I've tried!) We control our own direction and focus as best we can using the skills and abilities we have to get where we are going. We constantly adjust our speed and course correct based on what is going on in our lives at that time.
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| Rio Grande from the Balloon |
Do you need to turn your balloon around this morning to change your view? Are you using the controls you do have to stay on track?
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