WHEN THE ENGINE ALMSOT QUIT...
The other day I watched a video that stuck with me.
A jumbo jet captain stayed overhead, talking a young pilot through an engine failure in her Cessna.
Calm.
Methodical.
Steady.
At one point he repeatedly reminded her,
"Carb heat. Carb heat."
It made me wonder if she was dealing with carb ice.
Years ago, I had a similar moment.
I was flying to the Air Race in Southern California on what most people would consider a perfect flying day. It was hot. Clear. Not the kind of day you'd expect ice.
As we climbed toward the mountains near Paso Robles, the RPMs started dropping.
Then the engine sputtered.
The ridgeline was getting bigger by the second, and it was becoming obvious we weren't going to out-climb it. My mind immediately started scanning every possible cause and every available option.
Then my copilot said the same words as the jumbo captain.
"Carb heat."
She said it at the exact moment my hand was already reaching for the control.
Almost immediately I heard it.
Chunk... chunk... chunk...
Ice breaking loose inside the carburetor.
It's one of those things instructors hammer into you during ground school. You memorize it for the written exam.
But until you actually hear your engine trying to quit...
...it's just another checklist item.
After that flight, I became a carb heat fanatic.
Ninety degrees.
Blue skies.
Bone dry.
I'd still check it.
Then Commander taught me something interesting.
One of the easiest ways to verify your engine is properly leaned is to briefly apply carb heat and listen for the expected RPM drop. Suddenly carb heat wasn't just an emergency procedure anymore.
It became a tool.
Not something driven by fear.
Something used with awareness.
I think relationships work the same way.
Sometimes we become so afraid of getting hurt again that we start pulling "carb heat" constantly.
We overreact.
We overprotect.
We assume danger where there isn't any.
Eventually we're no longer responding to what's happening.
We're responding to what happened before.
The goal isn't to ignore warning signs.
It's to recognize the difference between fear and awareness.
Fear has us reacting to every little change because we're trying to prevent yesterday from happening again.
Awareness asks a different question:
What is actually happening right now?
The healthiest people I know aren't fearless.
They've simply learned when to pull the carb heat.
Question of the week:
Where in your life are you responding from fear instead of awareness?
— Dr. Michaela.
Do you know your Primal Wound?
Because once you do… it changes everything.