Fear of Flying

I both hate and love flying, flying in airplanes, that is. My dearest dream is to fly like Peter Pan - no wings attached, though I'm also quite aware this is not a feat to be accomplished in this lifetime. But flying in airplanes is quite the love-hate relationship.

We'll start with why I hate it. Quite simply, flying stresses me out. There are so many things that could go wrong, and I have a deep fear of losing my baggage (which generally contains important pieces of camera equipment or art that wouldn't fit in my carry-on). Additionally, said carry-on is always quite heavy due to the large quantity of camera equipment, and running around an airport with a bag that weights far more than the 30lb weight limit (thankfully not enforced) is never the most enjoyable experience.

I'm also afraid of crashing. When the plane lands I tense up, prepared for a jolting thud as we hit the ground. The landing is always as gentle as a massive plane landing on concrete can be, and my fears are again assuaged. 

But as much as I hate the airport experience, I do love being in the air. I love looking down at the tiny world below me, the patterns of earth and city making abstract art on the ground. Long pale lines snake around like geometry problems from tenth grade homework problems.

And then there are the clouds. Clouds are amazing from the ground. Looking up at them, they look so inviting, soft, and fluffy. Being above them is such a different perspective. They're flatter, spread out across the sky. In some areas there are only a few tiny splotches of cloud floating about the sky. Their shadows can be seen on the earth below. What, from the ground, seems like never-ending shade, is just a tiny blotch of dark on the great canvas of earth.

Some layers of cloud are stretched thin, like butter or jam spread over a piece of toast. Others look like smoke, frozen in the sky.

From above, the earth and clouds are like a work of art. Abstract and unassuming, specially there for only those in the air to see or experience, and only if they're looking for it.