Turning, Flying, & Dropping Your Bags (the “missing” compilation post for Sunday) September 20, 2026

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Faith, Football, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, New Year, One Hoop, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Suffering, Vairagya, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga, Yom Kippur.
Tags: 988, Channing Crowder, David McCullough, Fred C. Kelly, Fred Taylor, Ganesh Chaturthi, High Holidays, Jane Hirshfield, Katharine Wright Haskell, KISS MY ASANA, Orville Wright, Ray Clark, Shabbat Shuva, Tchuvah, Ten Days of Atonement, Ten Days of Awe, Teshuvah, The Pivot Podcast, Vairagya, Wilbur Wright, Yom Kipp
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“Chag sameach!” to those observing the High Holidays and erev Yom Kippur. “Many blessings,” to everyone and especially those celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi and/or anyone who is given to fly with friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom.

Stay safe! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.

This “missing” compilation post for Sunday, September 20^th, includes new content plus related links and excerpts. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra         (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).

Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.

“We could hardly wait to get up in the morning.”

— Wilbur Wright

What do you do when you have a setback? When you’re not excited about getting up in the morning?

What does it take for you to make a change? What does it take for you to turn away from one thing and/or turn towards something else? After you notice that something is not working, no longer serving you, and/or never served you, what does it take for you to let that thing go and move forward? What does it take for you to turn things around 180° or 360°?

What I’m really asking you is: What does it take for you to pivot?

Ray Clark is a former NFL football player, as well as a Super Bowl champion, sports analyst, and philanthropist. Earlier this year (two months ago to the date), he was unceremoniously fired from his spot on ESPN — while he was on the air! What would you do in that situation?

Mr. Clark, quite literally, pivoted.

While I initially (and erroneously) thought that Ryan Clark and two other retired NFL players (Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder) created The Pivot Podcast this year, they actually created the platform (in conjunction with the Shots Podcast Network) back in 2022. The lesson from their tagline still holds true: “Accept, Adjust, & Move Forward”.

The reminder that comes with that tagline is also true:

“It’s never to late to Pivot!”

— quoted from the description (and merch) for The Pivot Podcast

Turning, pivoting, and returning was on my mind today, in part, because yesterday (Saturday) was the “Sabbath [of] Returning” and, in part, because teshuvah (or tchuvah), the Hebrew word for “repentance, return, turn”, is a big part of the High Holidays. At the same time, this ninth day of the High Holidays was also the seventh day of Ganesh Chaturthi, the 10-day birthday celebration for Ganesha. So, the perfect time (or a good time, if you will), to tell one of my favorite stories: a story about letting things go.

Finally, this Sunday practice was inspired by a historic flight that the Wright brothers made today in 1904: successfully flying 360° (with Wilbur at the helm).

Wilbur and Orville Wright could not have been successful without a lot of support, including that provided by their younger sister, Katharine Wright Haskell (née Wright). Nor, could they have been successful without making changes to their flyer, changes to their flight plan (and location), and changes to how they took off. They had to let go of things that didn’t serve them. They had to (as noted above) “Accept, Adjust, & Move Forward”. Their ability to make all those changes — their ability to literally and figuratively pivot — is a great lesson in resilience.

“More and more I have come to admire resilience.
Not the simple resistance of a pillow, where foam returns over and
over to the same shape, but the sinuous
tenacity of a tree: finding the
light newly blocked on one side,
it turns in another.”

— quoted from the poem “Optimism” in Given Sugar, Given Salt by Jane Hirshfield

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.

[Given t(w)o] Fly (W)right (the ~11-minute “missing” compilation post for Saturday)

Wow! You’re Still Holding on to That? (the “missing” Wednesday post)

“The person who merely watches the flight of a bird gathers the impression that the bird has nothing to think of but the flapping of its wings. As a matter of fact this is a very small part of its mental labor. To even mention all the things the bird must constantly keep in mind in order to fly securely through the air would take a considerable part of the evening…. The bird has learned this art of equilibrium, and learned it so thoroughly that its skill is not apparent to our sight. We only learn to appreciate it when we try to imitate it. Now, there are two ways of learning to ride a fractious horse: One is to get on him and learn by actual practice how each motion and trick may be best met; the other is to sit on a fence and watch the beast a while, and then retire to the house and at leisure figure out the best way of overcoming his jumps and kicks. The latter system is the safest, but the former, on the whole, turns out the larger proportion of good riders. It is very much the same in learning to ride a flying machine; if you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds; but if you really wish to learn, you must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.”

— quoted from Wilbur Wright’s speech to the Western Society of Engineers in Chicago, Illinois on September 18, 1901

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “High Holidays: Drop Your Bags on 09202026”]

NOTE: This playlist is a remix. The original YouTube version of the “High Holidays: Drop Your Bags” playlist includes the original story. (See excerpt above for that playlist link.)

“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through.”

— Orville Wright

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHY I WANT YOU TO KISS SANDRA’S ASANA!

If you are struggling, thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!

September 25 — 27, 2026

LIMITED SPACE FOR HOTEL DISCOUNTS!

“Orville lived to see, too, the horrific death and destruction wrought by the giant bombers of World War II and in several interviews  tried as best he could to speak both for himself and Wilbur.

We dared to hope we had invented something that would bring lasting peace to the earth. But we were wrong. . . . No, I don’t have any regrets about my part in the invention of the airplane, though no one could deplore more than I do the destruction it has caused. I feel about the airplane much the same as I do in regard to fire. That is I regret all the terrible damage caused by fire, but I think it is good for the human race that someone discovered how to start fires and that we have learned how to put fire to thousands of important uses.”

— quoted from the “Epilogue” in The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

NOTE: David McCullough cites several sources for the quote above, which originated from the November 7, 1943, St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, “Orville Wright Takes Look Back on 40 Years Since First Flight; Despite Air War, Has No Regrets,”  by Fred C. Kelly.

### MAY YOUR NAME BE WRITTEN & SEALED IN THE BOOK OF LIFE ###