Getting Your Head Above the Clouds

Returning from a recent business trip I arrived at the airport early. After a long day of meetings I appreciated having the opportunity to sit down and relax quietly for a few minutes in advance of my flight home. It had been a busy couple of days when I found myself flying into four different cities. The end of this trip was welcome and I was anxious to get home to familiar territory.

Boarding my plane I checked my boarding pass only to realize that I was seated near the back of the plane, and also next to the window. My preference is always to have an isle seat. This gives me just enough room to stretch my long legs as much as possible. I also even appreciate the occasional interruption from seat mates that need to use the rest room. Again providing a further opportunity to get up and stretch. I was disappointed when I realized that for this flight I would be crammed into the window side. I was also a bit preoccupied and so I did not think that I would just be able to sleep through the flight. For the first time in years I found my self just staring out the window watching the landscape fly by.

The afternoon was clear and it was early enough that there was still light. As I sat staring out the window the first thing I noticed was just how slowly the things on the ground were passing by. The few vehicles I could make out on the highways below seemed to be just meandering by my window. Flying over hills, or stretches of green seemed to last forever and we just seemed to be floating. I saw trails of vehicles during this flight reminding me that below I was passing by rush hour traffic in some areas. All of this seemed to register with me but it was not until yesterday that it all became immensely clear.

Yesterday I had one of those afternoons that many parents complain about. My children played their first game of Little League Baseball yesterday. We were required to get them to the field by 5:30 for a 6:00 game. We prepared and planned for the events of this evening telling the boys that they should work on homework during the day at free time. We also asked them to organize their equipment in advance so that the sports bags could be placed in the car. We planned to eat out near the field which would reduce our commuting time to get to the game, and picked a fast food restaurant that would also work as a way station where we could complete homework before the game thus not extending our evening any more than was necessary. We picked up the boys at 3:30 from school. We were able to get to the restaurant, have dinner, complete homework, and have the boys change into their baseball clothes all by 5:15. A short drive to the field had us arriving right on time even though the coaches had not arrived when we got there. Somehow our planning had worked out for a change. The scheduling was hectic but we accomplished our goal.

The baseball game was for us uneventful except that one of the children was hit in the nose by an errant pitch from a twelve year old pitcher whose primary ability was speed over accuracy. That seemed to shake the boys up a bit but did not deter their enthusiasm. We lost the game however by a wide margin and one of my sons was disappointed that he did not get a hit. He seemed to have forgotten that he spent most of his time in the batter’s box jumping away from any ball that seemed close less he suffer the fate of his teammate with the bloody nose.

The game ended at about 7:30 leaving us just enough time to drive home, stop in the park to practice actually hitting the ball and staying in the batter’s box, and allow the boys to have a snack. All in all we got them in bed by 9:00 which is a bit later than normal but not exceptional.

Here is what struck me comparing these two different evenings. In both cases I was able to start out planning to accomplish a stated goal. Both required a fair amount of organization and planning. In the case of the plane trip the goal was to arrive on time and safely board the flight to get home by a reasonable hour. In the case of baseball the goal was to accomplish the other important tasks such as dinner and homework while still allowing for a fun activity during the week. However, I experienced these two events differently because in the first case I managed to get my head above the clouds. In the second case I was down among the trees watching everything whiz by. The physical exertion required of me on both evenings was fairly equal. Yet, yesterday I felt far more tired at the end of the day than I did after the plane flight. And to be fair in my assessment, in both cases I was able to sit for about one and a half hours, first on the airplane and in the other instance on the bleachers at the ballpark.

What I have concluded from these two events is that we all need to spend some time with our head up in the clouds. From that vantage point we have a unique chance to watch the world go by much more slowly. While things below might be just as hectic, getting above the clouds slows down our perspective. While I was sitting above the clouds I was still moving forward towards my stated goals. Yet, the emotional experience of achieving those goals was distinctly different. Down among the trees the pace is faster. We don’t get an opportunity to look around and see what else is going on. Down among the trees we are caught up in the moment, and we experience things like the kid that gets hit in the nose. Feelings and emotions are magnified, even though it might not be happening to us. Down among the trees we sometimes swing and miss and the dust from the field can at times get in your face. We experience success and failure, wins and losses and we take the time to practice those skills that have gotten rusty.

We spend far too much of our time down among the trees. Naturally, this is where the action is. However, I am suggesting that we need to make sure that we find more time to get ourselves up above the clouds. The pace is much slower there and your perspective widens. Somehow, time spent above the clouds helps us to be better equipped for the moments when that kid gets hit in the nose. Having had a chance to take a step back we can realize that even in that painful event a lesson was learned. It pays to keep your eye on the ball, and sometimes, it is just best to duck.