Leading Light: We have lift off!

Day 48 (Sunday 17th January 2016)

48 in Italian is slang for a shambles, or mess; to "succede un quarantotto" translates as
"it's going to turn into a forty-eight" but actually means "all Hell will break loose".
"Finire a carte quarantotto" means to go to the dogs or be ruined.
Painting: Gone To The Dogs by Michael Cheval

Jayne Cox, the author of today's post, is passionate about people and helping them to thrive "living life to the full and being happy"; she provides specialist coaching, supports stress management and is an Mind Fitness Trainer with a particular focus on supporting women. If you want to know more about her business check out her website Jayne Cox Consulting. She also runs a consultancy with her husband an AV specialist. Jayne is a brave lady who supports others from a space of personal knowledge and understanding, having walked her own dark path through eating disorders and self-loathing. Jayne lives near Bedford with her husband Michael, their doted on boxer (Daisy) a much loved pug (called Holly) and a collection of cats, hens and ducks. I love Jayne's joy in the life she has, the work she does and the friends she surrounds herself with. I met her via Social Media, but over the years we have got to know each other and she is a consistently caring and engaging member of my community (you can connect with her on Twitter, her handle is @JayneMCox).

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Thank you Kate for allowing me to join an amazing group of writers for your second year curating the wonderful advent blog series. I feel as if I’m sneaking in the back door as we now find ourselves in January and with the topic of ‘Coal Dust and Comet Tails’ which really did challenge my thinking.

Now I finally feel ready to release my thoughts so here goes...

Last year I watched in genuine awe and I’m not ashamed to say shed a tear, as 43 year-old Tim Peake launched into space aboard the Soyuz rocket. Chosen from 3,000 applicants and taking 7 years of preparation and rigorous training, what an achievement for what must be one of the fittest 40+ humans from earth and now living in space aboard the International Space-Station.

The Soviet Soyuz just happens to be 50 years old and had it’s first outing the year I was born, 1966. This spacecraft has launched Tim into the history books with the pride of a nation behind him all the way.

A combination of age and experience between them, 93 years to be precise, years that are respected and give them a well deserved badge of honour. The why behind this trust is quite simply that they are both tried and tested. How simply wonderful!

As an aside he seems a thoroughly nice chap and a courageous one. He’s not alone in his courage though, as we all face life’s peaks and troughs, our own tests and challenges and our own aborted missions and manual landings right here on earth.

Imagine if we looked upon age in ourselves and saw the very same awe we see in Tim. We all looked on age with this level of personal respect. If age was considered the university of life, knowledge and experience that can’t be gained any other way or fast tracked like so much of life these days.

My hope is we can look within ourselves and count our years as blessings.

So as I prepare to leave the launch pad of my 40’s I feel my own personal excitement of what to expect on my mission to 50 and far beyond. My feet may be firmly on the ground but my heart and my head often feel as if they are on the tail of a comet.