20/20 in 2020

Less than two weeks ago I turned my calendar over to the new year - 2020. The double meaning didn’t dawn on me right away - 20/20 equates to perfect vision. When I realized this, I had an  ah-ha moment. What better time to focus (pun intended) on seeing life more clearly than at the beginning of a new year. I gave up making resolutions a few years ago and instead choose one word to focus on. With my recent epiphany, my word for 2020 is going to be CLARITY. 

I have been anxious to put 2019 behind me and take it’s lessons with me to the new year. On the evening of January 3rd, I received a call that would be the catalyst to help me do this. I was given the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon, something that has long been on my bucket list. The location was an hour away and I would have to be there by 7:30am the next morning. I hesitated because of the short notice and because it’s winter time. Was I ready for this? Did I want to fly in the open air in a brisk twenty-five degrees? One thing I do know about hot air balloons is they will only go up if the weather conditions are favorable, so I said yes! 

I have jumped out of an airplane twice and seek the highest accessible viewpoint whenever possible. A treetop view offers a panorama one cannot see when your feet are on the ground. I am hardly a thrill seeker, I have simply found a sense of freedom in gaining new perspectives. What your eyes see changes in an instant when liftoff occurs.

When I opened my journal a short time before I started writing this blog, the following quote jumped out at me from the page (only one quote is on each page):

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. -Henry Miller. 

I knew what my topic was going to be, so did my journal and Henry Miller, apparently. 

When the calendar changes from year to year, I set out with an intention to do, be, see things different or better than the last. I anticipate the opportunities for me to action the changes. 

Being able to ride in a hot air balloon only three days into the new year was a gift literally and figuratively on multiple levels. First of all, let’s talk about the tethers. These are the heaviest of ropes whose purpose is to keep you on the ground. In order for a hot air balloon to obtain liftoff, the tethers must be released. Metaphorically, anything I have allowed to keep me from moving forward in my life has tethered me to where I should not remain. Releasing the tethers has given me the freedom to fly towards greater things. 

Floating above the winter landscape revealed the vastness of what remains untouched in the stillness of the season. It was clear where the wildlife had trod; some fields were zigzagged maps of a thousand footprints, some had single trails, but most were immense blank slates of white. They reminded me of the blank pages waiting to be filled with abundance in the new year. The view from above also allowed me to see the big picture, or the forest through the trees. This is something many are not able to do in life. Our vision gets blocked by what’s directly in front of us and we are blind to the notion that what we do in the now directly affects everything around us and what is yet to come. 

The word clarity is defined as; the quality of coherence, of being easy to see or hear, of being certain or definite. It’s origin comes from Middle English meaning “glory or divine splendor.”
It further comes from the Latin words claritas or clarus which mean clear. 

While I was floating in that basket in the sky, I did not look at the time once or give any thought to how far we had gone. I was completely enthralled in the magnificence of what I was seeing below. The geometry of the farmsteads and treelines was stunning. Blend in the color of the pines, the golden oak leaves that remain through winter, the barn’s, silos and bare trees against the indigo sky had my eyes and heart smiling the whole way. We saw a fox, two coyotes and two deer all running swiftly in the opposite direction, as if we were chasing them. Dogs barked and a long line of cows bellowed below us like a chorus of poorly tuned trumpets while being moved from their barn out to pasture. Being 500-1,000 feet off the ground is a God’s-eye view of life. You are low enough to see what’s moving around, but high enough to not be in anyone’s space. I would call this a divine splendor, but that is just my (grateful) opinion. 

I knew my balloon ride was going to be approximately one hour, but had no idea how far we would travel. When I asked the woman who called to invite me how far we would be going, she said it would depend on how far the wind took us. It was anybody’s guess. Okay, so you just go with the flow, literally, and trust the pilot to keep you above the treetops and powerlines. 

When we landed, the chase crew was there to help deflate the balloon and get everything packed away. I asked one of them how far we were from where we started. I was expecting to hear something close to one hour (or so). When I was told we were about ten minutes away I was dumbstruck. We were up for a little over an hour, however, our average speed of 5-7 mph only took us  7.3 miles from where we started. 

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens. -Carl Jung

One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 46:10; Be still and know that I am God. Which brings me to another metaphor. While I was floating, I was in a state of calm and peace and trusted my pilot to keep us safe. All I had to do was sit (stand) back and enjoy the ride, which I did wholeheartedly. I am still in awe that we only went 7 miles. It seemed like we went so much further. I guess when you trust the pilot, you needn’t worry about your speed or distance. You simply trust that he is the one whose skills and wisdom will get you to your next destiny. 

For 2020, clarity will mean not being tethered to that which doesn’t serve my highest good, seeing the big picture, trusting the connections and seeing the beauty in the blank pages ready to be written. Above all, it will be about just breathing and enjoying the ride. My pilot is more capable than I, can see where I cannot, and always, always awakens my heart. 

May your 2020 be 20/20! Enjoy the journey! Happy New Year!