I love to fly, not just because I often jet between Ohio and Florida, but because there is something special about being up in the air, soaring to a destination, and being unreachable.
I often have the clearest thoughts at 30,000 feet. While suspended in the air, it feels like my problems and burdens, or anything that is pulling me down, loses their hold on me. They are all far below me, in better perspective. The higher I get in the sky, the more insignificant and smaller they become. I feel removed from them. When my head rests on the seat, I take it all in and enjoy a peaceful comfort, feeling weightless, and free.
This peaceful feeling that overcomes me while I’m suspended in flight time, reminds me that I’m not really anywhere, other than somewhere between Point A and Point B. I’m insulated in warmth, soaring through the sky at 500mph, while outside the plane it is approximately -70 degrees. I'm insignificant but privileged to afford the experience.
There is a world beneath me where everything is moving, breathing, living, and existing. But, my attention is on the soft, delicate white clouds, present against a blue backdrop. The sky is a color of blue that I've not yet discovered in the crayon box. A blue that is clean, radiant, comforting and calming. The closest blue I've ever seen in person was in a Michelangelo painting at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. I find myself captivated by its hue.
I am unreachable. I am unknown by everyone on the plane. I am alone with my thoughts, far removed from all that affects my daily life. It's as though there is a pause in life, a short period of time where I’m insulated from reality, temporarily unavailable for anyone else but myself. I’m silent and still. I experience “me.” “Ah, there you are. I’ve missed you.”
I recognize the fragility of my life as it rests in the hands of skilled pilots, and I'm grateful for them. Flying requires utter faith in someone you've never met, or really even care to meet. I thank the cockpit as I exit the plane, with gratitude that I was safely delivered from Point A to Point B, yet again. The only thing that might be better would be flying the plane myself.
-MaryBeth