Good Landing

I recently heard the line on a cartoon "Any landing you walk away from is a good landing." Now, I have to admit, some of my favorite life lessons over the years have been from cartoons, so this was not so surprising to me. But in the moment I heard it, it rang remarkably true, and relevant to any number of things I have experienced in my life...

Being fired from One Life to Live may have felt like a crash landing, but I walked away and landed on a sitcom that taught me a ton and generated opportunities, not to mention connections and friendships I have to this day.

Handling my children's rejections from assorted kindergartens certainly felt like a bumpy ride at the time, but I, and they, walked away, and into good kindergartens, good high schools, and good colleges.

The end of the New York soaps felt like a slow, agonizing descent, but I walked away with good memories, a reasonable nest egg, and the freedom to explore new adventures.

Unemployment felt like circling forever and often landing at the wrong airports, but I walked away, more than once, and found my way out of wherever I was and to wherever I needed to be.

Not being asked felt like the crashing and burning of my professional reputation, but I walked away with my reputation, and my skill set, not just intact, but broader.

In among the smooth rides are more crash landings than we'd ever want to experience on a plane. But more often than not, we don't just walk away, we run, and jump, and soar--which sounds like a pretty good landing to me.