I could have titled this post, “A new rating” or “Passing a check ride,” but that’s not really what happened yesterday. Yes, it is true that I did fly a Piper Seminole with an FAA designated examiner, and I passed the required practical test to earn a new multiengine rating on my commercial pilot’s certificate. Yes, I studied and practiced and flew well. But it was so much more than that.
What really happened yesterday was that I experienced what can happen, what is possible, when a person opens their mind and heart to the flow of positive energy. It’s amazing what can be accomplished with a positive attitude.
My first flight lesson in a Seminole was on September 18, 2009, but I didn’t really begin focusing on the training again until March. It was a very long and dark winter, with very little positive energy flowing around in my world. That made it difficult to focus on accomplishing my goal. But then something changed, the cosmic tide shifted, and before I knew it I was back in the cockpit, nestled between two engines, trying my best to make them purr.
I woke up yesterday to a beautiful blue sky, decorated with fluffy white clouds. I looked at the appointment on my calendar and smiled when I realized that I was going to have the chance to achieve a goal, to make a positive step forward. The day was mine, and I left the house with a checklist in my bag and a smile on my face. I was prepared, calm and confident that everything would be all right. It was going to be a good day, because I was going to make it so. I was not going to that airport to fail, I was going to succeed. But I knew that even if things didn’t go according to plan — if the airplane broke down, or if I made a critical mistake for some reason — it would be a learning experience, and at the end of the day, I would have spent a few hours doing what I love. It was, in my mind, literally impossible for it to be a bad day.