See the Beauty (lessons from flying)

Hi Everyone! Hola! Nǐ hǎo! Bonjour! Halo! Namaste! Kamusta! Annyeonghaseyo!

Something you should know about me is that flying is one of my favorite things.

I am the person who always tries to sit by a window.

And at takeoff, I always imagine the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon and Han Solo shouting “Chewie, Punch it!”.

This trip my body was feeling tired, but my heart felt so full, almost electrified, after my weekend retreat with a fabulous group of female entrepreneurs.

As I watched the last people board the plane from my seat in the back, I started noticing how many people had closed their window shades. Yes, it was dusk, and I’m sure many people were feeling sluggish after a long day.

But as we took off (“Chewie, Punch it!”), I felt the excitement and anticipation of what beauty might await once we got into the sky.

And I was not disappointed.

The sky was filled with uncountable shades of rich blues, contrasted by dull greys and quiet purples.

Then we turned,

And the still setting sun was edged by a cloud, casting rays of coppery gold and highlighting the tips of each cloud.

It took my breath away.

Then, as I paused for a moment to stretch out my neck (it can get a little sore after pressing my nose against the window for a while), I noticed that nearly every other window in the entire airplane was closed!! They were missing the breathtaking show outside, and I felt this pang of sadness at all they were missing.

They missed the beauty outside because they weren’t looking for it.

So don’t “close your window shade”

Be open to see the beauty

In yourself

In others

And in the world around you

If I missed you in my greeting, please send me the word “hello” in your language! I would love to say hello to you.