Relaxation and flying

  Been pretty content the last couple weeks. Work slowed down and provided me with many opportunities to visit friends. The really cool thing is that I didn't blow those opportunities by being an isolationist or trying to run everything! I just was who I am and let life unfold. Good times.

  Been doing a lot of flying lately. Its therapeutic and terrifying. There is a tremendous amount of exhilaration that comes with taking the little remote plane up, flying it around, and safely landing it! When you screw up, and a crash looks highly likely, that's when the terror comes!

  I had crashed many planes in my day. I am grateful to say that I haven't crashed any since I picked up the hobby again. Maybe I am being too cautious? Maybe today my pleasure in flying is the experience of hanging out with my friends, rather than just the flying, so I am not flying as risky of maneuvers.

  We flew off of a couple frozen lakes. The first one had fishermen so we had to walk out quite far to fly. There was some sort of long legged bird out on the ice who stretched its wings out and yelled at our planes whenever they came near. Grumpy old bird. We flew around and had great landings. Success!

  The second lake was wide open. No fishermen and no peeved bird. We were set up for great fun. Trevor had just installed ailerons on his plane and was hoping to graduate from trainer to intermediate pilot. But, he hadn't planned on the wind. 10-15 mph winds with gusts over 20. He had flown in heavy winds before, but not with ailerons. A smooth takeoff and gentle turn were quickly followed by moments of terror and a modern day reenactment of lawn darts. Despite hitting the ice straight down, his plane is repairable, and that was a relief.

   It was my turn. I took off and the plane bounced around. Testing the slow speed flight was spectacular with moments where the plane would just drop five or six feet. Would my plane be able to land in all this turbulence? That's when adrenaline started flowing. I managed to land it safely and even went up for another flight. We decided then that I needed to be first up, so I can please the flying gods by offering up a descent first flight. Well....maybe its to check the wind high up....flying gods....really?!!

  Speaking of flying gods, starting work on my old remote planes reminded me of an axiom in the hobby.

  Be careful hooking up the electronics, there is a genie inside. If you see the magic white smoke escape, he will never return to function properly again.

  No magic white smoke has escaped any of my planes lately. So I am good. The hobby has been much more rewarding than ever before. Trevor set aside an area in his garage for working on them. There is a wood burning stove and even a bag of coal! It is truly a man cave. I love it!

  The times spent with him and my nephew are very rewarding. We all have plane projects and we hang out and build them. These are the best moments of my life. I am doing something I love, and people I love are doing it with me.

Relaxation

  How do I relax? Can I relax without being lazy? Does God approve of relaxation? How did Jesus relax? Can I relax around uptight people?

  The first question (how do I relax?) has changed plenty over the years. Catching frogs, tormenting my sister, repainting matchbox cars, experimenting with fire, were all fun things I did as a kid, but I don't think of them as relaxation. Relaxation means taking time from being busy accomplishing things to actively pursuing enjoyment. This definition doesn't quite work entirely, but it provides the foundation for what I now consider relaxation. Today I relax in many ways, the most enjoyable is dispensing grace. Loving on people is by far the most enjoyable thing in my life.

  That brings up the point of laziness. Often times in my life relaxation and laziness were synonymous. Discovering active relaxation has been eye opening to me. The effort involved with relaxation no longer seems a burden, rather it makes the relaxation much more enjoyable. Laziness robbed from me years of true friendship. Laziness cost me creativity. Laziness contributed to the failure of my marriage.

  God approves of relaxation. Ultimately this is the truth of the Gospel, relax dude, you can't do it but God will. Relax in the completeness that Christ bought for you. A person who is perfect has nothing to fret about, and Christ has made you perfect! Relax! Its all good.

  How did Jesus relax? I see a couple ways. He hung out and laughed with the worst of sinners. He rejoiced when someone came to him broken. He loved the unlovable. In one verse we see John leaning up against his chest, try seeing a modern Christian tough guy do that! John relaxed around the relaxed Christ.

  My last question of relaxing around uptight people is the hardest. They take themselves way too seriously. Always seeking approval and never discovering that God approved them a long time ago.

  I try not to worry about it anymore. Buddhism teaches that we should let go of things to be free, Christianity teaches that even if we hold on to things God still finds us pleasing. Who cares about qualifying if the only qualification is to be unqualified?

  Enjoy yourself! The toughest battle I often face is just enjoying life. I don't have to fix anything to please my Creator. Relax in the completeness of Christ.

  I just laid out a beautiful teaching about the completeness in Christ and how that gives us freedom to relax. That means I have it all figured out! Sure, yeah right. I am a compulsive worrier and a habitual over thinker. I can't relax when there is so much that needs fixing. Oh sure, sometimes I taste freedom and I lean on Christ's chest, but other times I am up frantically trying to prepare a meal while my lazy brothers are relaxing with Christ.

  Neurotic doesn't begin to describe how messed up I am. When I finish a good round of relaxing I feel bad. Not all the time, but more than you do. I bet you don't think so. I bet you think you worry more than anybody. Neurotic.

  I can't even relax about this blog about relaxing! I gotta stop this insanity. I need some coffee and a cigarette. I will try and smoke it as lazily as possible. I'm done :)