Day 140 of Your Year to Wellness; Mission Delayed?

Mission Delayed "With Purpose"

Life always offers us unexpected wonders and sometimes it gives us a reason to be disappointed.

Even when things don’t seem to go our way, there is an opportunity for growth.

That’s what happened at 4:55 this morning.

I’m in Orlando for the big NTI conference with the American Association of Critical Care nurses. When I arrived, I heard that the private company Space X would be launching its Dragon 9 space capsule. So at 2:00 this morning, my manager/sister Jeanine and I drove to Cape Canaveral to watch the launch. (Read more about the shuttle and its delay)

We were excited and could barely sleep. I got up early so I had time to exercise and meditate before leaving. I’ve always wanted to see a rocket launched into space and this unexpected news would be my chance. We did a dry run the day before and were grateful we had. Initially, we got lost trying to find Jetty Park where the launch could be easily seen.

Getting there this morning in the dark was easy breezy, since we had prepared the day before. We stopped at the park’s office and observation deck and discovered something else we hadn’t known; a reception was being held for the loved ones of the deceased whose remains would be launched and released into outer space. Among them would be actor, James Doohan who played “Scotty” on the original Star Trek, and Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper along with 306 more. (Read More)

We waited excitedly with many others who made their way to the far end of a very long pier. I talked to a few people who had come out to fish and had no idea that a shuttle would be launching. They wondered why there were news crews and so many people at what would otherwise be a very dark and quiet place to fish. We watched a man pull a hammer head shark from the waters and then we watched as he dropped the prehistoric looking fish back.

Some folks were there for the novelty and were disappointed to learn that the launch had been aborted. “Well, this was a waste.” We heard more than one person say.

But Jeanine and I were grateful to have been there, and grateful to learn so many new things. We were happy to chat with folks with whom we had this historic morning in common and grateful to have been close enough to Cape Canaveral to get there. When the launch was delayed (they will attempt again in 3 days,) we were grateful that caution ruled the day and all was well with the ground crew and rocket.
Space X Officials said that this was not a failure, that the mission was delayed with purpose.

Life will always give you unexpected pleasures and sometimes, plans will go awry but you will always have an opportunity to learn, to grow and to be launched into a better you.

Be well, be you, be wise.

Bertice Berry, PhD.

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