Life, Luck and Survival

The airplane rolled and pitched as it neared closer to earth. The land grew from small to large at an alarming rate. The wings leveled slightly as we held our breath and the motor quieted. But then a huge surge of power and at less than 20 feet from the ground, we swooped back up into the sky.

No, not a cut scene from LOST, but a real scene from my life last week. A reminder of how everyday of our life is about survival and survival can depends on luck and occasionally some skill and instinct. The week before, after being diagnosed with pneumonia and put on antibiotics, I was not happy with my mother’s progress. I took her off to the ER at Scripps Encinitas and she was rushed off to a hospital room with a pulmonary embolism. She is recovering now and has discovered drugs and the will to play golf again. I am planning her 90th birthday next month with glee.

How much do we dare to do? How much do we dare not to do? As it appears to be mainly in the lap of the gods, why not dream big and see what happens. So why did I spend far too many hours working on a grant proposal for emergency preparedness for artists. Maybe I was dreaming that this process would open doors for more grants and the ability to help artists in the future. But there is no doubt; I would rather be working on the programs themselves and in my own art studio. Sometimes the lap of my god seems a little hard and I wonder how prepared am I for an emergency.