Dooley Noted: 3/6/2015
Lately, I fly quite a bit.
And lately, I’ve had a rough track record of delayed and cancelled flights.
Yesterday was my first experience flying with United Airlines.
It was one of the most impressive flying experiences of my life.
In the middle of a New York winter storm, the airline’s employees worked tirelessly to expedite our process of getting in the air.
They worked like a well-oiled machine, communicating clearly with passengers and with each other.
They never lost their cool nor showed frustration.
This transferred to the passengers, disallowing any of us to get too frustrated with Mother Nature’s forces to ground the flight.
I watched as the plane rose above the storm, as if the event were a minimized threat.
I found the entire experience so inspiring that it made me want to do a better job with my students, my patients, my coworkers – with my life.
I can stand to be more like United.
In the face of eminent flight delay, the plane went up.
It looked doomed. It wasn’t.
The plane fought to take flight, rising up above the storm.
As I looked down at 30,000 feet, the clear sky gleamed above a winter storm that brewed below me.
This made me want to see myself through the storms of my life, struggling to rise above them.
You can be frustrated when rough things happen, letting them ground you.
Or, you can be like United and rise up above the storm.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley