When you work regularly with famous people, only the astronauts take your breath away… only they, have touched the heavens.

I was a bit flustered as I went about pulling up his presentation. After-all, I was fairly new to the business and a bit of a space junkie. Here was a man who had been in space several times and had literally floated with nothing but a tether between himself and the ether of infinity.

We proceeded to click through his PowerPoint slides, a compilation of brilliant photos he had taken while in space. What thrilled me most was to review his personal library of strikingly clear, glorious photos of our planet. It was almost incomprehensible to me that these were real images shot by the man next to me. Story had seen our home from a vantage point none of us shall ever experience. What was also incomprehensible to me was that I was working with this brilliant other-worldly man. He did not know that from my plush room here at the Ritz-Carlton, I’d be flying back to an abusive home where I was not ‘allowed’ to own a bed and slept on a futon pad on the floor.

There they were again, the flying thoughts of inadequacy and fear of being found-out. I would not make it long in this business if I did not find a way to stay on target with what I was doing.  I fought off the script I had in my head and got back to living my dream.

After re-ordering his images and discussing talking points for his speech the next day, we took a quick refreshment break. Before we sat back down, I felt compelled to ask Story a personal question. I asked Story the one thing I had always wondered about astronauts from the time I wore my plastic reproduction of a NASA helmet in my footed pajamas, watching the Apollo 17 moon landing Dec. 7, 1972.

Story paused and smiled a smile that grew from inside. Then he said, “Everything amazes me. I am so much more alive and I live in my moments”. He then spoke of the wonder of looking back at the ball hanging in space that holds us all. How precious and ultimately beautiful it all is.  Much of what he said, I knew he would share tomorrow, and it was powerful. I was not quite sure however, of what he meant about ‘living in his moments’.

“Debra it’s like this, I appreciate everything.
Story Musgrave

Story continued, now moving his right arm to and fro. “Now, when I vacuum the floor, that is all I am doing; vacuuming the floor. I don’t think of anything else, I give it my full attention. I find great joy in focusing on exactly where I am and what I am doing, even the simplest of things. I love vacuuming the floor.”

This was not the sort of answer I anticipated. I did not quite grasp what he was actually telling me at the time, though I knew it was something he felt fully.

Story spoke on stage the next day. It was in front of a huge audience who had settled into their seats after huge applause. He began his talk. I assisted him from backstage, hidden directly behind him by the massive set and projection screens that displayed the visual images we had finalized the night before. He paced the stage, holding the attendees in the palm of his hand, speaking of the wonders of what he saw. He inspired the audience with insights into the immeasurable breadth of dedication, focus and ingenuity it took for himself and whatever NASA ground crew and team he worked with, to reach the heavens.

His excitement in retelling these things seemed fresh and new. He was not verbose nor was he egotistical in any way. 

Story Musgrave shared his tale with honesty and integrity;
with the desire to convey the wonder of existence,
to all who would listen.

As he ended his talk, the audience question and answer session began. Q & A’s are the only times I get to sit back a bit when we are ‘in show’. I relaxed back into my chair realizing I had successfully assisted a man who had done more and lived more fully than almost anyone I would ever meet in my lifetime.

As I half-listened to the banter of the show crew thought my headset, waiting for the next cue, I thought about my future; the future I could taste, the one I so desperately wanted to carve out for myself. I often flushed with fear and doubt, panicking about being ‘found out’ as not being worthy. Sometimes I felt as though I was lost inside a secret I could not control or share.

I knew from the depths of my soul, if I could just hold on, my future awaited.

I needed to control my insecurities and keep moving.
I needed to figure out how to cope with it all.

I thought about Story out there, sharing the wealth of all he had learned. I could feel the energy in the room as people listened in wonder of the bravery of this pioneer. The audience reveled in the integrity, the passion and unfathomable focus and grace that this man had manifested in himself in order to touch the heavens.

I chuckled a bit, thinking none of the people out there were thinking about Ex-Astronaut Story Musgrave,  vacuuming the floor.

And… there it was. My ‘ah-ha’.

Story had given me a wonderful gift for any time I felt uncertain as to how to forge ahead.

Story had faced an uncertain return from space, multiple times, putting his life on the line for the endeavors and advancement of human experience. He was able to find ultimate focus and composure in moments of doubt and high-stress. From all this, he learned to embrace life, and honed life’s meaning down to the joy of applying that same integrity of intention to simple moments.

Story focuses on and gives appreciation to whatever it is he is doing, be it engaging an audience of thousands, walking in space or attending to a mundane chore. All those years ago, he was telling me to ‘live in the moment’ regardless of the non-essential thoughts trying to infiltrate my mind. I recognized this is how he was able to qualify, survive and thrive, doing what most could only dream about. 

If Story can maintain grace and composure even under the threat of death if he loses focus in his job, I can maintain grace and composure doing my job with full and true attention. So can you.

If Story can focus on simple acts and find appreciation and honor in that act, no matter how mundane, so can I. So can you.

So now I put it to you. 

Be true to what you are doing in the moment for if you really think about it, experiences are of the few things you will ever truly own.

I wondered sometimes, if Story saw in me, a person who was reaching for better; a person who was willing to do everything in her power to have a better life, as long as she held her integrity and lived honorably.

I did it; became free of years of abuse, had a fantastic career (until I had to retire) and for the past 11 years have been in a loving, safe relationship. When I was ready to write this, I reached out to Story Musgrave, then 83 years old, as a professional courtesy. I had no idea if he would respond but I wanted to let him know the difference that our talk made in my life. I wanted to share our private conversation and I hoped for his blessing. 

He replied a few hours later:

“Wonderful, and the attached will amplify my words of back then,
my best wishes for the journey ahead.”
Ex Astronaut. Dr. Story Musgrave

Click here to view or download:

‘Lessons for Life’, The STEAM Journal

the essay Story attached with his response.

I have since visited him at his home. But that is another… story.

To this day, when I become sidetracked, overwhelmed, confused or scattered, I vacuum my floor. I really, really, vacuum my floor. Godspeed.