Thermals

Petra and the Art of Circling In

In a dream, a bus was waiting for us. A bus full of adventure. I had the feeling that Petra and I were supposed to get on it.

But something got in the way. Explanations. Demands. Detours.

When I wrote to her later, I asked her a simple question—a bridge, a chance for her to reply with a single emoji.

But instead of answering the question, she answered something else.

That would have puzzled me for a long time in the past. Today, I see something new.

Not every aircraft flies directly toward a mountain. Some use thermals. They circle. They gain altitude. They approach indirectly.

They respond to a symbol. A metaphor. An image. They approach the subject from the outside before delving into it from the inside.

From the outside, it sometimes looks like evasion. But maybe it’s something else. Maybe it’s a form of navigation. A way of dealing with uncertainty. A way of building capacity.

The eagle doesn't fly in a straight line. It circles. And yet it reaches the summit. Perhaps even with less effort.

These days, I sometimes wonder how many people aren't actually opposed to an adventure—they just choose a different way to approach it.

Not the mountain trail, but the thermals.