top of page

Flying by the Seat of My Pants!

  • Writer: Deborah (Ellen) Wildish
    Deborah (Ellen) Wildish
  • 5 days ago
  • 3 min read

Cinder to Flame Flying by the Seat of My Pants

With my husband's permission, I will share our adventurous story (with the photo as my memento). When you reach the end, you’ll understand how this ties to the work of Cinder to Flame.   


In celebration of our thirtieth wedding anniversary, we planned a winter trip in February to Costa Rica. One month prior to the trip, my husband constantly complained that he was not going to enjoy this trip and wondered why we had booked it.


From San José, we travelled to Quepos and joined a catamaran sunset tour. I enjoyed the waterslide into the Pacific Ocean and the opportunity to snorkel. My husband hates open bodies of water so I expected that he would stay onboard. But after I jumped in, my husband was dog paddling toward me.


In La Fortuna, we had the option to paddleboard on Lake Arenal. I had always wanted to try paddleboarding. To my utter surprise, my husband agreed to join me. When we arrived, the motorboat had broken down so we had to paddle both ways across the lake. We were determined not to fall into the murky water (and we didn’t fall off our boards). When we reached the halfway point on the other shore, the guide expertly cut a fresh pineapple and we devoured our halves while taking in a spectacular view of the Arenal volcano.


Next day, was our pre-booked adventure, canyoning and rappelling down a waterfall. Equipped with hard helmets and our wet gear, we bounced off slick rock ledges, slipped and slided along a rocky stream path, and jumped into a deep pool of water. Unfortunately, my husband sustained a nasty bruise after colliding with a rock wall.


A few days later, there was another pre-booked adventure, ziplining in Monteverde over the cloud forest (a high-altitude tropical rainforest that is shrouded in mist). We harnessed ourselves on and off 10 platforms, each progressively higher until we reached 137 metres (approximately 450 feet) above the treetops. During the last run, we were directed to fly in the superman pose (outstretched arms and legs while lying on our stomach). Then we discovered there was a finale, the Tarzan swing that began with a startling free fall. (I forgot to mention we both hate heights.) I was lined up first but asked the guide to let my husband go ahead. That way, I could enjoy his monkey yelps and laugh as I watched him plummet. While removing my gear, I noticed a rip in the back of my shorts - the harness had snagged the seat of my pants!


This article’s photo displays the patch that covers the tear in my shorts. And after our trip, my husband admitted he was scared and thanked me for planning the most thrilling vacation and set of adventures he had ever done in his life!


So, how is this story relevant to the work of Cinder to Flame?


Cinder to Flame helps Corporations solve complex challenges with strategic services that energize people, fuel a healthy corporate culture and ignite major innovation.

During the early years of aviation, pilots relied on feeling the plane’s movement and balance through the “seat of their pants”. Today, this phrase holds different meanings, such as the ability to improvise and apply creative thinking when the path or plan cannot be predetermined, this is essential for major innovation.    


Mindset is also important, major innovation requires willingness to exercise courage, take risks and engage in adventure.


Enjoy another personal story about openness to adventure: https://www.cindertoflame.ca/post/swing-from-a-trapeze


© Deborah (Ellen) Wildish, Cinder to Flame 2022-Present. All Rights Reserved.


These hashtags are central to the work of Cinder to Flame and relevant to every article:


These hashtags are specific to this article, click a hashtag to generate a subset of Cinder to Flame articles with the same topic:

Cinder to Flame Banner

bottom of page