Flight

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return. Leonardo da Vinci

I have a really strange deep love for flying that I don’t entirely understand. So many people I know are stressed out by traveling, and especially by flights in particular—most likely due to overbooked flights or rushing to catch a connection, or lost luggage, or so many other things that could go wrong.

Those are all valid reasons for disliking a mode of transportation, I suppose, but for me what makes it worth it is the time actually spent in the air. I came to this realization on my flights this spring while traveling to and from Cape Town, South Africa…three flights or a total of about 30 hours of flying and layover time each direction. Sure, some of the time in the airports rushing around trying to find my gate and make sure details were worked out and there were no problems with my carry-on, etc was slightly stressful, but once the plane got off of the ground and reached its cruising altitude, the time until beginning the descent is really some of the most incredible I’ve experienced. While in the air, you’re completely isolated from any of the worries on the ground. All that matters are that time, the people sharing the flight with you, and the air around you.

It is the best possible time for reflection and self-discovery.

photo from http://www.airliners.net/