Life is like a balloon. If you never let yourself go, you will never know how far you can rise!
Imagine for a moment, a hot air balloon, floating gently through the sky. Feel, if you can, the magic of soaring over a changing landscape at sunrise, suspended in a basket under a glorious hot air balloon.
Now let’s take this metaphor and apply it to our life circumstances. It might seem far-fetched here at the outset, but stay with me. You’ll see that it can be perfectly applied.
The first part, the balloon itself, which is the largest aspect of the hot air balloon, is the most important part – it keeps the whole shebang up in the air and moving.
If we were to apply it to you as a human being, the balloon would represent your mind, which is that greater part of who you are. Your mind is where all your aspirations live, where you fantasize about your dreams, and where all your untapped potential resides. Just like the air in the balloon, it takes a lot of time and energy to stay afloat and enjoy the view, so you too must keep your mind focussed on staying high in the air so you can enjoy life’s amazing journey.
But – just as the hot air balloon needs the right conditions, (stable winds, no storms, or rain) so do our ideals and goals.
Adventure starts where plans end
And by that, I mean – positive thoughts and feelings, and not just once, but constantly, so we can keep the balloon high, not just so that it doesn’t come crashing down, but to give it the potential to float even higher!
The second aspect of the hot air balloon is the burner. Don’t let the size of the burner fool you! It may be small, but it plays a significant part in this whole adventure! Just like the hot air balloon where it requires regular intervals of hot air to stay afloat, you too as an individual require regular intervals of motivation, encouragement, incentives and inspiration to keep you going… these are all required for long-term sustainability.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing
Thirdly, there is the basket of the hot air balloon, and this is where the passengers and pilot stand. In the basket, the pilot and passenger are able to see where they are going and of course, where they have been.
We are each the pilot of our balloon. Our attention to our thinking minds and ensuring positivity keeps it afloat, our motivation, like the burner, keeps us propelling us along. The basket represents the people we have with us – those we carry on our journey, whether it’s the team we’re leading at work, or our partner, or our children, our friends and families.
And we each have a responsibility to keep the balloon afloat, which reminds me of a little story that I heard and I’m using it to end this blog here. Please let me know what you think.
Oh… the places you will go!
A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a man below. He descended a bit more and shouted,
“Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
The man below replied, “You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”
“You must be an engineer,” said the balloonist.
“I am,” replied the man, “How did you know?”
“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help so far.”
The man below responded, “You must be a manager.”
“I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know.”
“Well,” said the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is, you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault.”
What was your take or insight in this story about the man in the balloon?
