I recently pondered the above titled question. Principles are easier for me to find when I take out the left brain language. Consider the Apollo 13 mission, right brain dominant, left brain minimal, that includes forgetting about Tom Hanks being the main character in the movie. ;) I love life-lessons, so, get comfy as I launch this lunar version of the aquatic "just keep swimming" principle!
Proper Preparation Allows For a Smooth Launch.
In the beginning, there was conflict, but nothing a little forethought and careful planning and preparedness couldn't handle. Despite not going exactly as planned, the goal is in sight, and the journey begins!
The stuff you deal with once you're 200,000 miles from home, GOSH!
In contrast to a tragic past, things are going smoothly this time around, actually they've never been better, then... The "Houston, we have a problem," moment! Out of the middle you nowhere (no pun intended) something complete unexpected happens. Reality of the moment starts to set in and you realize your fate is looking less and less like the 1969 Neil Armstrong, and more like the 1996 Lance Armstrong. 🙃
Rainy Days Come Even in the Most Controlled and Prepared Circumstances; Marvel at Their Beauty and Impermanence!
You take every precaution to ensure your journey back to safe ground succeeds. Metaphorical provisions are rationed, energy conserved, temperatures drop and you still have a "rainy day" in space, inside your spacecraft... Who could have ever expected that!? Weird stuff is going to happen. Maybe, for you it's as miserable as a 39° rain inside your CM... Wait, what!? Okay, so maybe you can't enjoy everything in the moment, but you can journal about them and find their beauty when you're not in the middle of crisis mode. I promise, life is beautiful to epic proportions for those who look for the beauty. Especially when it doesn't feel like it!
Dare to Hope, One Hurdle at Time.
Whether critical and exacting calculations or just doing the very best you can with your current skills set, you dare to hope as flight director, Gerald Griffin did, "...that's the last hurdle - if we can do that, I know we can make it." And dag gum, dag gum, they did!
Let's Revisit the Question - And ask another.
Does Apollo ever make it to the Moon? Some may say "it depends on which Apollo" others, "Nope, it never landed." But it's a powerfully worded question, and I choose to answer it this way: Heck yes it did! It made it to the Moon, and even under impossible circumstances, it made it all the way back! And we can too.
So, where are you in life? With God, with your family, relationships, career, personal or professional goals? Will you "land" your goals every time? No, but I still love ya to the Moon and back! I deeply desire to always choose love, no matter all our collective struggles, cause that's what God does. And I love God with all my heart.
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Above all, our moment by moment choices, attitudes and principles lived by are ALWAYS more "mission critical" than any one envisioned outcome, and thereby makes all the difference.
