Posted 12:51 PM by Anonymous

Life at 35,000 feet

This was recently posted to my journal but I liked it enough that I wanted to share it here as well. I was feeling inspired on my recent trip home to Dallas.

On my frequent journeys across the country I usually take the extraordinary beauty that lies right outside my window for granted. I'm caught up in a good book, working on something that didn't quite get finished at my work, or talking to one of the many single serving friends I have encountered over the years.

However, when I do take the time to look out the window at the world it's an amazing sight to behold. You would not believe how beautiful things look from 35,000 feet.

I see brilliant sunsets that no land bound person is privileged enough to gaze upon. Brilliant orange-red that gradually decreases in intensity to yellow and finally light blue which progresses to deep cobalt blue and finally a black canopy of stars.

I see great cities dwarfed and all laid out before me, their problems long forgotten. I see trees that look like someone dropped little bits of color on them with some grand paintbrush or a child spilled a bowl of colorful candies on the ground. The trees are truly a sight to see in autumn.

I gaze out the window and see Mt. St. Helens, her top blown, looking so small and powerless when that couldn't be farther from the truth. I see the Puget Sound wind its way out to the pacific through the mountains with a light mist hovering above the valleys, trying to peek over the hills.

I see the formidable snow tipped caps of the Rockies right outside my window. They seem to jeer at me as if to say "how dare you so easily traverse us?"

The clouds far below me look like little bits of cotton that at times appear to be great fantasy cities in their own right. I watch as the moisture that has collected inside the window crystallizes and turns to ice in the sub zero temperatures. There is such a miniscule amount of water that you can see the crystals taking on form and becoming rigid before your very eyes.

Cities are extraordinarily beautiful at night. San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Boston all lit up and beautiful. Lines of traffic reduced to streams of red and white lights.

I have seen great thunderstorms with lightning that envelops the entire sky. The plane lurches and drops as it powers its way through the storm.

Yes, things look very beautiful from 35,000 feet. It almost makes you want to forget what an ugly world awaits your landing below. Crime, hatred, violence, the will of evil men. It makes me wonder sometimes if we will really make it on this planet another 2000 years. But while I'm soaring through the clouds I can temporarily forget about all that and just admire the beauty.

It makes me forget the hardships I endure in order to behold this beauty. I'm rarely in the arms of the woman I love; I live my life out of a suitcase one week at a time. I enjoy the luxuries of life on the company dime but at what price?

Life at 35,000 feet; bittersweet.