Flying

Travelling as much as I do, you'd think I would get used to this whole flying thing. I have gotten a nice little routine in booking flights, checking in online 24 hours ahead of time, timing my arrival so I'm not spending hours ahead of time at the airport, and getting all the packing organized nicely. It's sort of become a part of me, and I really don't need to give it a lot of thought.

I'm used to the whole thing of going through security, boarding the plane and finding my seat. I've figured out that the window seats are the best for under the seat storage space. I've learned not to sit in Row 1 because you have to under the seat storage and the overhead bins get filled up quickly! I've learned what is the best carry-on for me, something that has everything that I need and yet doesn't take a lot of space. I've learned to take a good book along and to pack my own headset.

There is one thing that I still can't get used to though... and that is the moment when we sit at the end of the runway and begin to acccelerate. I put down my book, brace myself and a part of me roars with the engines as we go faster and faster, finally becoming airborne... We are flying through the air in a machine that weighs tonnes and tonnes... It makes no logical sense! Oh sure, there is the speed, and the aerodynamic flow of the air over the curved wings that creates lift... but think about it for a moment... we are flying... Our ancestors would marvel, would be amazed and disbelieving!!! There is something magical about the whole flying thing, something that touches a deep core within me... It's the take-off that I really connect with... the moment in which we leave the solidity of earth behind and leap into a realm that is not our natural habitat... We are guests in the air... We see the world from a whole new perspective. It is an honour and a privilege to soar through the clouds... a grace to break free of gravity if but for a few hours... Possibilities emerge...