In a moment, it will all start to become clear. Whether a lifetime of training and preparation has made me ready for the moment that is upcoming.
As the Hudson River approached, Chesley Sullenberger (AKA "Sully") was, at that very moment, piloting US Airways Flight 1549 offshore from Manhattan, New York City. His plane was rapidly fluttering back to Earth.
In that moment, he had one thought in mind. Successfully landing the plane in the river below, and then getting everyone off the plane before they drowned. If he failed, the lives of 155 people were almost assuredly over.
Now imagine that you are a passenger on that plane. Alarms are sounding around you. You can cut the sense of dread and fear with a knife.
All that you can think about is the loved ones that you may never see again. In such a moment, enduring truths emerge.
Then, time and space criss-cross. In a slow motion blur, your world reboots, and you miraculously don’t die. Suddenly, life is something to live and look forward to again.
Forearmed is forewarned, if you are willing to own up.
Now, return to the present moment and riddle me this; If you were given a second chance, having survived because of Sullenberger’s readiness for The Moment, how would you live your life moving forward? What would you do more, the same, less or differently?
Looking through the eyes of -- and exercising the perspective of -- a Beginner's Mind, spend 15 minutes and write "something" down. Consider it your New Year's Gift to yourself.
Let me proffer up a Mandala, and say that if you do this exercise before the first anniversary of Sullenberger’s Moment (January 15, 2010), maybe the Gods will look favorably upon you, and you will realize your Personal Truth in the Year Ahead.
Happy New Year.