BALLAST

The ballast was loaded into the basket of my airship, comprised not of gallons of water or sand bags, but of the sobering perspective of my father.

·         A stitch in time saves nine.

·         Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

·         A job with a pension and benefits is the gold standard.

·         You won’t always be eighteen, you know!

·         Stay at home a little longer, save your money. This is your last chance to avoid a landlord picking your pocket every month!

Ballast must be used judiciously, assisting a hot air ballon from flying too high into the stratosphere where the air will be too thin to breathe and the pilot may lose control. Conversely, there is the issue of not flying high enough to realize the full potential of both airship and pilot, a delicate balance of value judgments sorting through professional fulfillment versus financial security. Inclinations and course bearings taken must be carefully analyzed to avoid high peaks and downdrafts that can potentially derail our voyage.

There are times when our spirits become deflated, our exterior punctured and compromised, sputtering out of control. Occasionally we inflate our problems out of proportion distorting our perspective to where we must ground ourselves, assess the damage and patch ourselves up, not unlike an old bicycle inner tube, and courageously launch again to realize new heights and vistas.