30,000 foot view

& other brief reflections from the window seat

It’s only the beginning of June, and I’ve been on 32 airplanes so far this year. That’s 32 waits on the runway, 32 safety demonstrations, 32 cups of slightly burnt coffee, 32 chances to sleep or work or listen to a podcast or some combination of the three. Most of all, it’s 32 chances to stare out the window and remember how big the world is, its vastness. 

I love the window seat on airplanes and the 30,000 foot view of the earth below me. Mountains, forests, oceans, deserts and streams. Crop circles for miles. The clouds! What playful creatures greet me every time I look outside. 

There’s comfort to be had in feeling small. Every time I look out an airplane window, I’m offered the chance to reorient the narrative in my head that says I’m the main character of existence. Sometimes I wish that the world would exist to serve me, but I’m keenly aware of how boring that kind of life could be. It’s so much more interesting to know that there are millions of other stories being written, all at once. Stories of life and death, birth and re-birth, sadness and joy. All those tiny specks beneath my feet, each containing extraordinary purpose and meaning. 

In an airplane, I gain perspective. I can see the end of a mountain range, and I can see myself. I’m a single pine tree standing in a vast forest. I’m one tiny channel of a sprawling river. My car travels alongside a thousand other cars on the highway, each with their own equally vital destination. 

I find it exhausting when I can only see myself, my problems, my ever-changing inner landscape. Up in the sky, outside that airplane window, I’m offered context, clarity, fresh (well circulated) air.  

I can’t shake the childlike notion that I’m physically closer to God up there. I find it easier to pray. We have clearer conversations in the sky. My phone on airplane mode, my feet off the ground, everything holding me down is stripped away as I’m lifted to a new altitude - closer to God.

What do I pray for at this height? Vision. What good is sight without vision? I ask for the confidence to go where I have to go.

30,000 foot view of Chicago