Head in the Clouds

Reposting due to tech glitch (I'm human)

Flying over the snow-covered Rocky Mountains this past weekend, I had a thought.

From 30,000 feet, the mountains look gorgeous, dressed in their finery of winter snow. At this altitude, they are easy to see, easy to cross, and easy to move past.

But from the ground level, they seem endless and insurmountable. If I was on foot, horseback, or even in a car, they were impassable. Even if one is as hardy as a pioneer or world-class hiker, a daunting and dangerous descent remains after struggling to reach the summit.

Back to the 30,000-foot thought. Flying over the mountains, instead of being at the ground or cloud level, reminded me about two mindfulness concepts I’ve adopted in lieu of my inability - and frankly lack of desire - to meditate.

Joseph Goldstein and Tara Brach are two accessible meditation teachers who each have their own podcasts and are frequent contributors to meditation apps. Joseph says mindfulness can be as simple as observing and naming what comes up while we sit quietly “in a dignified posture.” (Perpetual sloucher just busted!) For those of us with monkey minds, always jumping from one thought or emotion to another, mindfulness is simply noticing and naming what passes through our minds - planning, judging, hunger, listening, feeling - as if they are passing clouds drifting by. No need to engage them. Just notice. If you find yourself carried along on a thought tangent, just start the whole thing over. The noticing and starting over is the practice.

Tara provides a wonderful visual to help one access mindfulness. She described how a plane breaks through the clouds. All of a sudden, what was on the ground, hanging over your head, or obscuring your view becomes something to observe for what it is - passing thoughts, emotions, and feelings that, once above the ‘noise,’ we can see and observe instead of getting tangled up in them.

As I’m writing this, we just went through some major turbulence. The pilot informed us that it was going to be a rough ride. He was NOT exaggerating. I’m usually a bit freaked out by strong turbulence. But knowing what to expect, being above the clouds instead of in them, blind to the horizon, significantly reduced my fear level. Being above the clouds doen’t mean we don’t feel or react to life’s ups and downs, we just don’t get consumed by them.

I’ll land this essay (pun intended) with what I’m reading and listening to now.

Books

What’s Our Problem? A Self-Help Book for Societies from Wait but Why author Tim Urban. Available only online because Tim has mastered the art of the simple drawing to illustrate complex topics, and didn’t have the budget to paper-publish over 200 hand-drawn images (hint, he draws like a talented 4th grader).

Substack

Boundless by Paul Millerd - continuing the Pathless Path journey, Paul writes about our relationship to work, society’s expectations, and forging one’s own path.

Stumbling Towards Clarity - Claire Taite’s exploration of leaving a 20-year, almost accidental career in airline operations and “still figuring out how to have a healthy relationship with work, and what that even means.” She is an airline crewing consultant and mediator - how cool does that sound?

Podcasts

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio. I love music, and this podcast, hosted by the BBC, involves interviewing famous people based on the seven pieces of music they would take with them should they find themselves stranded on a desert island. Oodles of seasons and episodes, so quite easy to find someone you like and get to know them in a different way.

My own (shameless plug), Nevermind the Gap, with friend and fellow coach Carmen Qadir. I’m re-listening to learn what to do more of and what to be aware of (I have a really hard time with run-on sentences. Instead of letting an idea sit, I string along endless ‘ands’). Also, I need a real podcast mike, so I don’t sound like I’m presenting from inside a tin can or on a street corner.

That’s it for this time. Until then, let me know what you think, prefer, or want more or less of.