Humility @ 10,000 feet ~ Joy of Flying: Blog # 168

Humility @ 10,000 Feet ~ Joy of Flying 

           Flying is a great feeling, isn’t it? It gives you a high, quite literally ;). These days, it is one of those rare times when you are devoid of the clutter and chatter of internet. Unless you choose the windows of your laptop over the ones on your side, you can gift yourself with a much needed solitude and thus a bit of introspection.

            Looking down the window, the first thought that occupies you is how puny and immaterial one is as far as the world is concerned. One realizes how small even the biggest of mansions look from up above the world. The high rising compound walls which gives a false sense of security on the ground looks like a thin line from the top. The boundaries of states that we so grudgingly fight for, begin to blur and ceases to matter. It is true that when people say, you need to see it to believe it. At that altitude, the idea of oneness finds much more acceptance than any preaching will ever get.

            Nature is at its magnificent best when seen from above. Much of it goes unseen at our dwarfed line of sight. The mighty rivers and the Ocean, the extent of which refuses to relent to our eyeballs from the ground manifests in their entirety and add to the picturesque canvas. One comes to realize how ugly a barren land looks without trees. The mountains which intimidate us by their size and scale are reduced to humble rocks if not pebbles.But none of it comes even close in comparison to the beauty of night. It’s like diamonds strewn over; sparkling and radiant.

            I envy the artist who dictate the clouds their form and shape day after day. From the ground, one feels clouds are the highest one can aspire for. On flight, one realizes there is a world above clouds. I felt it is much like the goals we set for ourselves. We think those goals are the highest we will ever reach. Once we attain them, we realize there is miles more to soar. All one needs to do is to let the imagination and will wander freely and discover the higher strata.

            The aircraft itself which soars so high, above and beyond all of the earthly beings leaves only a small shadow on the ground. Little wonder, people who have attained pinnacles of excellence in their lives remain so humble and grounded for they know the footprint they leave behind is too small in the scheme of things of this mighty universe.

Arun Babu.

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