In the last 5 days, I have flown on six different air planes.

For the most part, each flight was smooth. However, there was one flight through the Arizona mountain ranges that involved crazy scary turbulence. The pilot came over the intercom and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Unfortunately there is turbulence ahead that we will enter within the next two minutes. Please stay calm, seated, and keep your seat belt fastened.”

As expected, the entire plane broke out into nervous chatter, clinching arm rests, hanging on to spouses, and nervous giggles. I fell somewhere between nervous giggles and warning the man next to me that I might scream. I can honestly say, that was the longest and most anxiety filled 2 minutes ever.

We all sat there waiting for this so called “turbulence”. What would it feel like? Were we going to get sick? Would we crash? Would the oxygen masks fall? I wanted so badly to know the future, to know what I was getting myself into. All I could do was deep breath and hope not to embarrass myself if and when we suddenly plummeted and jarred around.

That is exactly how I would describe life! We go through our daily routines and tasks almost waiting for the inevitable “next bad thing” to take place. We don’t know when it will happen, how it will happen, or how bad it will be, but we know challenges are ahead of us. If we aren’t careful, we can let this fear of the unknown prevent us from being all in, and enjoying the present. We will start to take the good for granted as we anticipate the unknown challenges ahead.

But, back to the story….

The two minutes passed, and sure enough, the plane suddenly dropped like a roller coaster, followed by the worst bumping, rattling, and jarring I think I’ve ever felt on a plane. But, as you know, I survived. Not only did I survive, but I experienced three really cool things during those few tortuous minutes of turbulence.

First, a group of children behind me thought the turbulence was hilarious and so fun. They laughed so loudly, cheered, and threw their hands in the air every bump and drop. The rows of people around them, including myself, couldn’t help but laugh at their fearless approach to the un-known.  They didn’t know to be afraid. And that was beautiful.

Second, I looked out of my window and saw the view posted at the top of this blog. The very mountain range causing the turbulence was breath taking-ly beautiful. The views made the uneasy flight worth it.

And third, I witnessed a man next to me dealing with the situation and his fear in an unexpected way. He appeared to be a heavy metal drummer from what I could sort out. Metallica shirt on, sunglasses on the whole flight, tattoos all over his arms, air drumming with head phones in, long dyed black hair, rings on every finger…he was the LAST person I would expect to look over during the turbulence and find totally relaxed, holding his palms towards the sky while deep breathing.

The rest of the day I thought about these three situations and how relatable they are. Our life is full of unknown “turbulence ahead” moments. We know they are coming, we just don’t know when, how bad, or for how long they will last. Obviously we can’t control their inevitable appearance, but, we can choose how we handle the unexpected.

First off, we can approach the unknowns like the precious children behind me. They laughed as the adults screamed. They had no idea they were suppose to be afraid. Too often, we allow fear to run the show. And most of the time, that fear is based on unrealistic ideas we have made up in our minds, fears that have little to no foundation.

Second, we can choose to find the beauty that blossoms within and from challenging or unexpected experiences. When I look back on my life, my “hardest” years or months were always followed by the most growth ever experienced. I learned the most, grew the most, and connected with God, self, and others, the most from those challenging times. Just think how much more peace we would experience during life’s trials if we always entered a challenge with this attitude, “Something good for me, something beautiful, is taking place amidst this rough patch”.

And lastly, just like that man next to me finding his happy place amidst the chaos, we can prepare for those “turbulence ahead” moments by known beforehand, what brings us strength, balance, peace, purpose, and clarity. For me, this comes through much time spent with God, prayer, and connecting to positive people and experiences that bring that balance. If we know these things about ourselves, we are far more likely to remain centered and founded when everything around us seems to be crumbling or unsteady.

This entire blog post may be the silliest I have yet written. But for me, it is SO relevant as I embark on a brand new chapter in life (transitioning from a hospital nurse to a school nurse, and moving back home). I have no idea what the future holds, but I do know I hope to laugh through the hard times, find the beauty within the challenges, and stay grounded and at peace amidst the unexpected turbulence 🙂

Wishing you all a smooth life ride…good vibes…and good travles!