Simple Thoughts Sunday: Small daily turns determine our destination

The story line of how there is great power in being one degree off of “the” course continues to pop up in my reading. Here’s one that is really clear:

“In 1979, a passenger jet carrying 257 people left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight. Unknown to the pilots, there was a minor 2 degree error in the flight coordinates. This placed the aircraft 28 miles to the East of where the pilots thought they were. As they approached their destination, the pilots descended to a lower altitude to give the passengers a better look of the landscape. (Antartica…sounds pretty cool to me.) Although both were experienced pilots, neither had made this journey before and had no correct way of knowing that the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of Mount Erebus, an active volcano that rises from the frozen landscape to a height of more than 12,000 ft. Sadly, the plane crashed into the side of the volcano, killing everyone on board. It was a tragedy brought on by a minor error – a matter of only a few degrees.

Experts in air navigation have a rule of thumb known as the 1 and 60 rule. It states that for every 1 degree a plane veers off course, it misses its target destination by 1 mile for every 60 you fly. It may not sound like a lot, but as you saw above, the accumulated small error had tremendous impact.

One… two… three degree errors in our lives have the same impact. That is why I often find myself writing about course corrections, living lives of intention, etc. The great truth is that we can generally make “in-flight” adjustments, and I am thankful for that!

Through the Easter season, I read Ann Voskamp’s latest, “The Waymaker.” This theme seemed to carry this thought circuit of the influence our small habits and daily rituals have over time. One personal example I have found to be true is my morning routine. When you think about what makes a great day (which turns into a great week, etc.), can you identify what made it so? For me, it’s rooted in a fairly early wake up call after at least 8 hours of sleep, some type of brisk activity/walk/bike, etc. and time to cook up a couple of eggs, cut an avocado and spend 15-20 minutes in some type of devotional reading.

Here’s the thing: I find myself getting “off course” on that often. It’s quite simple and yet I see the impact when I get off course by a degree or two. How about you? Does this resonate?

I’d love to talk healthy rhythms. What are those that best support us during this season and how can we be more likely to stay committed and less likely to veer off course? Fewer course corrections please! I found Ann’s thoughts on habits a bit searing actually… “Habits are the way we dress in our deepest desires, and our daily rhythms reveal our truest romances. A habit of turning to Facebook before opening the Word… of being more consumed with news than the Good News, of turning to Hollywood’s stories to understand our own holy story, instead of staying in His Story…” While I wouldn’t readily admit – nor do I truly believe – that is wholesale truth for me, it must have something that I need to meditate on a bit and address. One thing I know for sure on this topic, is that I desire to live a life advancing good and to do that, I need to stay on course. I am so thankful to have this tribe to help me to do just that!

Have a wonderful week! A special thanks to my dearest friend Debbie, who asked me about my writing the other day. Writing is a really important “rhythm” for me, and she knew that although we have never really talked about it. I am in the middle of a relocation and also – that fun menopause mid life phase – and all in I’ve been a little off my game in this area. Friends, it’s important to encourage one another and I am so grateful to be writing again today thanks to Deb.