Consistent posts are a thing that should be done, but I have struggled of late. When life is slow, topics don’t always come easy. When things pick up, the ideas are there but I cannot always take the time to think them through much less write them down. Wandering the amazing collection housed at the Stafford Air & Space Museum, I found a reminder that I need to take control.
Control Buttons Galore!
An original Mission Control console from the Johnson Space Center sat before me. Buttons upon buttons, each with a specific label. I don’t pretend to have the first clue as to how it all works, but I get the gist. Some the buttons have fairly clear meanings. Others read a bit archaic and, for a few, I wondered if there was a typo. The point is that someone took the time to piece together each and every part of that console to make sure it worked as intended. Someone learned that console to make sure they could respond with the correct button push in a timely manner. This control panel was built with nothing less than complete intention.
Direction Without Focus
Over the past six months or so, I have found my mind drifting into multiple, creative pursuits. The constant issue is getting carried away in the joy of it all. They control panel buttons light up, warning that I am veering off course. And there is no one there to press the button and set me straight again. It is all up to me. Meanwhile, I’m over here trying to remember how this whole operation works.
Ultimately, I lose control of the helm, but find myself in safe waters. Is this what I want, though? Safe waters? Clear sailing is nice. There are few things more relaxing than watching calm seas roll past. Eventually, though, you have to bring the vessel home. That means navigating reefs, narrow channels, and more.
I need to sit down and hammer out, with great intention, my mission control. I have all the wiring, most of the instructions, and not nearly enough focus. Perhaps that focus never really comes, but that is no excuse. Make it happen. Make it real. Watch the buttons light up on that control panel.
