I booked a flight to attend an artist residency in southern California. After 15.5 years of not being willing to get on an airplane, I felt a sense of freedom in allowing myself to do the thing that I had been afraid to do. As we took to the air, I felt an expansiveness that made the world feel a little more open to me. My seat, by coincidence, was right over the wing.

Yes. I can fly.

“Taking flight” shifted something in my psyche. It frees me up to the possibility to make other choices and decisions that can be unencumbered by past experience, allowing each new experience to be viewed with fresh eyes. It affords me the opportunity to move forward with an open mind and heart.

Yes. I can fly.

And the world opens up to me. And not just in the exhilaration of being in the air, above the clouds, or the anticipation of what adventure awaits me at my destination point; but in the beauty of saying “yes” to life, and to not letting fear keep me from doing what I want to do.