#TMC16 Can't Turn Around

I've flown on a plane three times, TMC being two of those three. I'm still a little unfamiliar but mostly okay with how airports work.

Kind of like teaching.

I'm just walking around the airport following the crowd; I don't exactly know where I'm going but I'll read the signs and figure it out while I'm walking.

Kind of like teaching.

If I'm really lost, I could stand still and be upset. But that doesn't get me any closer to my destination. It's better for me to just stop and ask for help.

Kind of like teaching.

When the plane just sits on the ground for 30+ minutes, I can be upset that my time is being wasted, or I can do something productive with my time that is passing by anyway.

Kind of like teaching.

When I'm on the plane, I can do what I want to do like sleep or read a book and ignore everything around me. Or I can look out the window and enjoy and reflect on what's around me, what I see, and how I am part of an extraordinary, creative, very detailed, big picture.

Kind of like teaching.

When I'm driving on the Interstate, following the explicit GPS directions, and I miss a turn or make a wrong one, I could just pull over and give up. "Well. that's it guys, I'm just never going to get there." Or I just keep driving while the GPS gives me a new route to the same destination.

Kind of like teaching.

When I'm in a new city, I can go to all the same places like Wal-Mart, Target, Dollar Tree, and McDonalds. I'm comfortable with those. I know where everything is. I know how much things cost. Or I could go to new places like Lake Harriet, Lake Nokomis, Minnehaha Falls, Fat Lorenzo's, Noodle Company, Mesa Pizza, Davanni's, Broder's Pasta Bar, Mall of America, and Bubba Gump Shrimp and Co. I can see and enjoy things in moments that I can't get back, in moments that I'm not in my comfort zone.

You never know what you're going to get.

Kind of like teaching.

I can be overwhelmed by all the choices of streets, restaurants, and stores that I've never heard of, don't know how to get to, and don't know if I will like. Or I can pick one, plan a route, and try it. If I like it, I can go two nights in a row. If I don't like it, I can just not go there.

Kind of like teaching.

I can feel guilty about cost of traveling or I can be intentional about getting the most value out of the cost. I can feel guilty because I don't know how to fly a plane myself or I can be intentional about making the flight go as smoothly as possibly. I can worry about all the ways this plane could go down or I could focus on how amazing it is that this is my life and that traveling is so accessible and constantly improving. I can be afraid because I'm not in control of my own safety or the lives of everyone on the plane with me or I can choose to operate out of love instead of fear, to be the best passenger I can be, and to look on the bright side.

Kind of like teaching.

When I feel uncomfortable, afraid, guilty, upset, or lost, it kind of doesn't matter. I chose to drive to the airport. I chose to get on the plane. I chose to pick up a car and drive to a hotel.

All my choices led me here.

Why not choose the best? Why not choose to enjoy, to be grateful, to learn, to grow, to ask for help, to try something new, to take baby steps, to reflect, to plan new adventures year after year?

After all...

I can't turn around now.