I'm Flying to Portugal

Flying Lesson #4 Plus a new feature!

I am flying to Portugal on Thursday, on a plane, of course. Pursuant to flying, I am going on a lark.

On a lark describes something that is done on the spur of the moment, something that is done spontaneously and for fun. Something done on a lark has not been planned but may be considered irresponsible in a fun way and childlike. The word lark in the term on a lark is used to mean frolicking or playing. (Grammerist)

I love that a lark is a bird, birds fly, and I have further to fly.
So why this, now? It seems random, even to me.

1. Every time I’ve been out of the US it was for work. While I don’t consider teaching “work”, it is, and it carries a lot of planning, responsibility, accountability, and execution.

2. I’ll be taking a workshop this time, with an instructor I’ve long wanted to learn from. Her approach to art is different from mine and I’m hoping I know that will enrich and expand my art. Plus, I’m only responsible for myself.

3. The timing was right. My schedule was clear. That’s a first!

4. The place is beautiful and the price is very reasonable.

   

5. I won’t know a soul until we meet in Lisbon, At my age I find that exciting rather than nerve-wracking, like my former self used to.

6. If not now, when? My health is good but I also know life is fragile. The workshop was announced in early December 2023, so it was a very spur-of-the-moment decision. Most important, it felt right.

7. Why not me? I’m doing this for me, and that’s something I rarely do.

I feel like I am heading into the known unknown again. I know the framework - flight, workshop, artmaking, the camaraderie of women. It is the unknown parts I am looking forward to, transporting me into a childlike state of awe and wonder. I will be a blank slate, a tabula rasa.

I think it boils down to the fact that I no longer feel the need to play it safe, be practical, always spend wisely, or have a solid, “appropriate” reason for doing something like this. Why did it take me so long to treat myself for no reason, to fully experience this life I’m living?

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

If, like me, you are waiting for a reason, for permission, for courage, for whatever is holding you back from doing something just for you, go for it. I bet there is something right in front of you that you could take a chance on. You don’t need to fly far, if at all, but you do need to spread your wings. What is it you want to do?

NEW FEATURE!

Quote of the Week
People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains,
at the huge waves of the seas,
at the long course of the rivers,
at the vast compass of the ocean,
at the circular motion of the stars,
and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.
- St. Augustine