Why do we do it? We have so many “normals” that when applied to other situations become so different.
As I sit here looking out the airplane window, my fear of flying comes to the forefront. Why? Because planes can crash. Because I’m not in control. Because flying is a risk. But WHAT ISN’T?
Every time I step into my car or walk across the street, I’m taking the risk of dying. But in one situation I do it less. Could it be that’s why it’s actually a risk? The unfamiliarity? We’ve been walking across the street about all of our lives. (Heck I’ve even gotten hit before) but I still feel little trepidation when I step outside the pavement.
We’ve been riding in our cars all our lives. And only to a certain age were we not the ones in control. (I’ve even been hit in a car, too) but again, that hasn’t stopped me from getting in a car. My heart doesn’t stop and I don’t say a million prayers before and once I get in my seat.
So what is it?
Is it because I’m doing it alone? No, that’s not it. I can be on a plane with 20 other brothers and sisters and, though slightly lesser, still feel a twinge of fear.
Maybe it’s because flying truly shows how small we are in this world. Maybe because airplanes take us as close to the touch of God as possible, yet still so far away. It’s in this aircraft that the sense of eternity becomes slightly more understandable. Suspended in the air and looking out the window into the vast sky, I see no end to the blue ocean in the sky. Where does it end? How far does it extend? Does it ever stop?
Eternity…what’s it like? What am I leaving behind?
And strangely…I’m getting closer…it’s the familiarity. My ears tend to hurt a little less during flights than they used to. I ignore a little more of the flight instructions than before. Lol
Maybe it’s not so unfamiliar.
