Opportunities Dropping From the Sky
Whenever I see a hot air balloon in flight,
my spirit soars. There is something absolutely magical about several balloons
floating on the skyline drifting towards you.
On a Sunday morning, early last month,
while walking out to our shop, I spotted three balloons on the horizon. It immediately
brightening my morning. Several years ago, I enjoyed a flight in one over
Calgary. I experience varying degrees of acrophobia (fear of heights), so I was
pleasantly surprised to discover that I didn’t even notice the balloon lifting
off, enabling me to enjoy the precious memories created as we flew above the
city. At times, the only sound was the flaring of the gas as it heated the air,
while at other times the pilot brought us low enough to greet people on the
ground below. The winds eventually carried us to an industrial park in the southeast
where we experienced a bumpy landing, the only unpleasant part of the
experience.
Beginning that day, the possibility of
floating over the countryside close to home began to intrigue me. Thus seeing
this group of balloons doing what I dreamed of spurred me into action, as they appeared
to be landing close by. I hopped into my car to chase balloons, beginning the
adventure.
They were in the process of loading their
equipment when I drove up. After sharing my interests with the pilot, he asked
if there was sufficient room for them to launch from our place and would it be
possible for them to view the site. He also mentioned that, according to ballooning
tradition, a champagne breakfast was the next thing on the day’s agenda. A short
while later, I was enjoying breakfast with about 14 people on the south deck of
our farmhouse, providing opportunity for both. Bonus points – they brought the
breakfast and the champagne.
“As
soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was about to begin.” Winnie the Pooh
Life is serendipitous. As the morning
continued to unfold, I learned one of the passengers has ties to Carseland, the
small hamlet close to our farm. His mother grew up there. We exchanged contact
information and I look forward to the opportunity to learn more of his family
history.
Every day brings new set of possibilities. We
need to train ourselves to see them and then take action. If we don’t, they
disappear. That Sunday morning led to a great
memory (champagne breakfast on my deck), a chance to learn more about
Carseland’s history and an invitation to be a guest speaker at The Calgary
Balloon Club’s monthly meeting. Together, they literally dropped out of the
sky.
The adventure continues. Almost a week
later, as I was preparing to leave on a road trip, my brother called from
outside indicating balloons were floating over the farm. I ran out to check and,
believing it was my new friends, I honked the car horn. Almost immediately my
phone rang. It was the balloonist phoning to say hi and confirm the speaking
engagement. I’m now wondering where else this venture takes me.
“Life is like a balloon. If you never let
yourself go, you’ll never know how far you can rise.” Linda Poindexter
Marcy Field
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