About two years ago I closed my clinic and moved back to New Mexico to get married and switch careers. I have managed to make both of them happen, and each one has it's own unique challenges.
My intention in this blog will be to seek a higher perspective from which to view my experiences. My job will help in a literal sense, and I am a very literal kind of guy.
My job is operating either a laser system, or a digital camera, or a hyperspectral scanner while flying in a plane to capture the data used to make topographical and other types of maps. It is fascinating work, very technical, very exciting and challenging. Every day is different.
But flying a mile or two above the earth gives me a HIGHER PERSPECTIVE, and I try to incorporate that concept into my life. I strive to have a higher Spiritual perspective in my observation of my day-to-day experiences.
About a week ago we were just getting ready to take off from Grand Junction Colorado to fly out to the California coast to start a project. Everything was great during the pre-flight check and run up. We pulled out on to the runway, the pilot started running the engines up to full power when the left engine (which was brand new, just out of the shop) quit.
We looked at each other and said, simultaneously, "That's not good!"
But in all truth we both thought it was much better then than it would have been ten minutes later; that would have been bad, we were fully loaded, right at the weight limit. At that weight the plane can fly on one engine, but it will be a controlled descent. Not what you want as you are leaving an airport.
We got a technician to come check the plane out. He has thirty plus years of testing new engines to tune them up after being built, before being put on the plane. He inspected things and finally concluded that the cause was air in the fuel lines. When this air bubble finally worked its way out of the fuel flow diaphragm it hit all six injectors at nearly the same time and that caused the engine to quit. Since then we have 16 hours of flying without any problem.
So how can I relate this to a higher perspective? Well, in my Spiritual journey I go through changes, challenges and rebuilds as well. If I am committed to this challenge there have been times when it was like a HUGE air bubble went through my fuel flow diaphragm. I lost all power and it took a while to re-start the engine.
This last 5 months of unemployment was a good example of that. I have never been unemployed for that length of time since I started working when I moved out of my parents house for the first time at 16 years old. It took the wind out of my sails and that seriously impacted my attitude and from that impact it took its toll on everything else.
But with perseverance and looking at my experiences from a little distance I have returned to flying high on full power.
As I said, I have a great job.
Hi Michael, Glad to hear that you are now "flying high on full power". I know when Mike was out of work for a year, it impacted the entire family. No matter how hard we tried to keep things status quo, we just couldn't. It affected us emotionally and financially. And now we are "paying" for it. Losing the house; filing bankruptcy. BUT, the good thing is we are now on a 1-acre parcel of land near "A" Mountain in a 35-year old ramshackle trailer. And can you believe we're happier there than in the house? Snug as a bug. There is wildlife galore -- quail, hummingbirds, rabbits, coyotes, and across the road horses and cows. There are lizards and spiders, too. UGH -- but gotta take the good with the bad, right?! Just about everyone has chickens and there are roosters that seem to crow all day long. But that's okay, too. I love it!!! I have two windchimes out -- one was my mom's. I have two hummingbird feeders out and the hummers will come right up to the front window. Recently we've seen a couple of bats at dusk. They dive bomb us -- too cool! They're the real small ones; not sure which they are. Fruit bats? We are planning on starting a garden sometime in the future. Anyway, if Mike hadn't lost his job, no telling where we'd be now. Probably not the lot enjoying Nature at her best. There's room for improvement, but that will come when the time is right.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Betty