The Moment of Acknowledgement
For pilots, there’s a particular moment of acknowledgement during almost every flight. Sometimes there are several if it’s a really great flight. This moment normally happens during the cruise stage of flight where everything is calm and going smoothly, and you have nothing more pressing to distract you from that moment. In that moment, you look up and you look out. You take in everything that you see out of the cockpit window and there’s an inner acknowledgment and perhaps even a happy little mental sigh – almost definitely a slight lifting of the corners of your mouth in satisfaction. The thought in that moment is fairly similar from pilot to pilot, and it’s “This is my office…and the view from my office is not too bad!”.
It’s an “all’s right with the world” kind of moment. It’s a moment of achievement for the fact that you are where you are. It’s a moment of deep gratitude and slight awe for everything that you’ve been gifted. And in that moment, you seem to hang still for a few seconds.
The feeling within that moment is unique. There are parts of it in other experiences which, if combined, might get pretty close. It’s that moment of satisfaction and accomplishment as you hit that difficult golf shot and it sores off, exactly as you intended it to. It’s that moment of intense anticipation as you near the top of the rollercoaster, having listened to the coaster cars drag themselves up the incline and knowing that as you reach that pinnacle, you’ll be flung forward into what comes next. It’s that deep, loving calm when you look at your child or something else you’ve created with blood, sweat and tears and think “that is immensely beautiful and I am privileged to have had a hand in it”.
As we stand here on the cusp of another decade with 2019 not quite behind us and 2020 not quite here yet…I wish you a similar moment of acknowledgement.
Whether all is right with your world or not, take a moment to look up and look out. What 2019 has required of most of us has been a lot – and yet here we are – stronger, wiser, and further down our journey. There is no doubt in my mind that what 2019 has held has prepared us for a more effective 2020, and that excites me.
In this moment, as we hang here on the edge of one decade, not yet ready to be flung into the next, pause and acknowledge everything that you’ve achieved. Survey what you’ve created, what you’ve been gifted and what you’re involved in. Know that you are exactly where you need to be.
by Christen Killick
December 30th, 2019