Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.
I did a little reading and found that in aviation there is a term called soft landings or soft field landings. Soft field landings are a landing style or strategy used for any landing outside of the norm of an asphalt and concrete runway. Examples are landings on grass, snow and gravel runways which are likely to be atypical and not ideal.
The objective when landing on these types of surfaces is to touch down as smoothly as possible and at the slowest possible landing speed (Radtke, 2023) with the aim of mitigating significant damage to or destruction of the vehicle.
As such, it can be expected that orchestrating a soft field landing requires skill, analysis, and feel.
This reading excited me and I couldn’t help but draw life parallels. I think about the unexpected, atypical and potentially wounding circumstances that require us to adjust and make soft landings to mitigate the harm and destruction caused to us or our lives and get us ‘safely’ back on the ground.
Soft landings are the safe people and places in our lives. Soft landings are the acknowledgement of the hardships, setbacks and turbulence of the experience of being human, and understanding that although these can’t be completely eliminated there are ways the ultimate destruction can be contained.
Soft landings emulate what attachment therapy posits as secure attachments. These soft landings are the figurative homes that we occupy. These homes
- Provides a sense of safety and security
- Regulates emotions, by soothing distress and creating joy
- Offers a secure base from which to explore
(Divecha, 2017)
Soft landings are the reason I am daring to start this blog and ultimately this practice. Soft landing’s allow us to be braver, soft landings allow us to be wrong and make mistakes, soft landings give us permission to change our minds and try again.
The above is what Soft Landings Psychology aims to explore, facilitate and be. How do we honour and sustain our soft landings. If we were not born into existing soft landings, how do we cultivate them for ourselves and be them for others.
Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.
Soft Landings 