Much of my life has been like a plane taxiing around an airport, heading for one runway, then another, but never quite taking off.

Oh sure, I’ve had successes along the way. I had a good job (by society’s standards), rewarding friendships, interesting travel experiences, and other stuff like that.

But all that is like driving a plane along the ground. I’m at the controls and the plane is moving forward, but it’s not really doing what it’s meant to do.

Sometimes people tell me they like how “grounded” I am. I guess that can be taken in more than one way.

Often I’ve made it to the end of the runway, only to review a painful checklist that never passes inspection:

• Am I absolutely sure that my destination is the right one?
• Is this really the best plane to fly there?
• Do I have enough fuel on board?
• Are all my passengers ready for the trip?
• What if I’m missing out on a better destination?
• What if I crash?
• What if someone else has a faster plane and gets there first?

Eventually, the pain of staying stuck on the ground got to be too much. I took some short-hop flights, tested my wings, and learned as I went along. I attended workshops, read a lot of books, and tried a few new experiences.

And now I am flying the big plane, heading for high altitude, with a bunch of passengers who are as excited about this trip as I am.

Sometimes it takes us a while. We have lessons to learn on the way. But we can’t sit on the ground forever, even if the plane is moving forward.

There’s a great big sky out there, just waiting for us.

Let’s go.

—