FLY.

There was a female astronaut being interviewed on Radio 5 live this week.

It was a re-run actually.

I can’t remember the astronaut’s name I am afraid, but I do remember some of what she said.

She said that she went into space when her son was 3.

He’s about 8 now.

She also said that she imagines it would be easier to explain to a 3 year old than an 8 year old why mum was buggering off in a space ship for a few weeks.

She’s probably right.

Fly.

The quote that stuck with me though was this one.

It’s what she said was one of the things that helped her decide to complete the mission, leaving her family behind:

What would it look like if he saw me stop a dream?

I like this quote because it is a well constructed, open question.

And because it focuses firmly on her son and what she sees as part other responsibility as a mother.

It should make us all think.

What would it look like to our children?

To stop a dream?

How might it influence our children to make decisions about their dreams?

I mean this respectfully… but flying into space is, in my opinion, no more commendable or impressive than many more rather more mundane decisions that a person might make about the direction of their lives.

There are many ways to change a life… your life.

I don’t like how people do what they feel they should, as opposed to what they were born to do.

1000.

1000 months.

That’s all you have.

So if you sense, even for the tiniest moment that you have the opportunity to fly…

…fly.