Indy 500_Feel the Courage

:Listen to our Inner voice. Our inner power.

We all have 'power' of intuition. Our gut response. Outcome is irrelevant most of the times. 

Fear minimizes our spontaneity. It's there no matter what decision we finally make.

It's all a process. Observe it. Watch it. Feel it. No need to judge it, positively or negatively.

We exercise courage as we take action regardless of the fear. No avoiding fear.

Here's a secret: Fear is our near steady companion. Our Jiminy Cricket. A cautionary pause to embrace. That's all it is. 

Break on through to the other side of fear into...FREEDOM.

Freedom is the goal. It feels wonderful. Fear is the gauntlet we must persevere through now.

Hold on. Never let go of our goal.  Go with the flow. We explored this here.

Ahh, you ask "What about 'wrong' decisions?" Hmm. We learn from our mistakes. 

No mistakes in our lives? Really? They come. They go. That is life. We observe. We witness. We learn.

Back in the day, graduating from Boston U, my good friend had 2 tickets to the Indy 500, 15th row, 10 feet to the right of the finish line.

My Chevy II Nova had never ventured out of southern New England. Woodstock was a few months away and was not yet on my radar.

This seemed like an adventure of a lifetime. No reservations. No planning. Nada. Off we went. Go West, and we did.

My Uncle's borrowed Fuji Film Fujica-ML 35mm camera (yeah, the one here in The Floyd Gallery) was brand-new to me. Color slides.

It was a rangefinder. with split screen focus. A little clumsy in my hands. Hot day. Noise. Noise. Noise. Unbelievable NOISE.

The sights were out of this world and that was lots of eye-candy fashion in the grandstands. Felt like heaven.

The cars were zooming (no, not that Zoom) by at around 200 miles per hour. They thundered by my field of vision for each of the 200 laps. 

Excitement. Adrenaline. Beating heart. Thumping heart.

The drivers individual courage was off the charts. Their inner voices were loud and clear to them. One race. Once first place.

Finally, with much fan fare, here comes Mario Andretti for his very first win at the Indy 500.

What to do? Had only one fraction of a second to capture him right as he crossed the finish line.

As an Aeronautical Engineer then at Grumman Aerospace, I felt if I saw him crossing the line in my viewfinder, it would be TOO LATE.

I need to anticipate the action. Feel my inner voice. Trust it. Who me?

The checkered flag was raised. The camera pressed against my face. Lots of fear. More fear.

Instinct. Listen to that inner voice. NOW! Click!

That original slide was shared with many a future client holding it up to the light. A WOW moment. One I'll never forget.

Listen to our inner voice. It's all we really have now.

Stay safe, stay strong, and thanks for reading The Floyd Gallery Blog, my friends.

P.S. Recent blog images were expertly scanned from my ol' color slides by Pivot Media, Florence, MA. 

About the Author: Robert Floyd enjoys awareness and being in the moment. So appreciative of heroes in his life. You can usually find him, when he’s not in The Robert Floyd Photo Gallery, leading Zoom sessions and creating 2020 field trips in the beautiful Pioneer Valley, Cape Cod, Cape May, Newport, Manhattan, and Nova Scotia. 

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Image: Mario Andretti crosses finish line, Indy 500 ©Robert Floyd, 1969