Richard
Final Approach
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- Feb 27, 2005
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Ack...city life
A conversation in the Beautiful Airports thread got me thinking...
Learning to fly is like learning to walk across the street. At first, it is with severe trepidation that we even take that step off the curb. Eyes wide like saucers it seems everything is trying to kill us. Hundreds of thoughts speed through our minds, causing much anxiety. Doubt creeps in. Finally, we're on the other side and think that wasn't so bad, maybe.
We've heard of the sufferings of other because they didn't look both ways, their vision was obstructed, their shoelace was untied, all that. We promise ourselves not to do such silly things. We will exercise caution every single time we go near a street.
After awhile our experience level puts to bed the primal anxiety we feel. Oh, we still look both ways, but it has become a commonplace event, even to the point that it sometimes seems we're merely going through the motions of looking both ways; looking but not seeing. Now we can concentrate more on the benefits of crossing, or more likely, wonder what's for dinner or, hey, how 'bout them Cubs!
Pretty soon we take our new found skill on the road. Just like at home, it's one step at a time in the big city. The cars and trucks are moving much faster here and there's so many of them so that old anxiety starts to surface. We just hunker down and think about the goal.
The years go by and we marvel at what we've accomplished. It is almost with disdain that we wonder what was it that had us so fearful back then. It's as if the only danger was in our minds, but now that the true perceptions have been made known we realize there is really nothing to it.
Having realized our perceptions of the past were false and that there is no real danger we drop our guard against something that really never existed. Or if it did exist we certainly made it more than it was.
So, we quit looking both ways; besides, the other guy is looking. County lane or city street, we tell ourselves there is no difference, it's all the same. We've done it thousands upon thousands of times before. Besides, what harm could there be in crossing the same street which I've crossed so often before? I know every inch of this street, I don't need to......BAM
Learning to fly is like learning to walk across the street. At first, it is with severe trepidation that we even take that step off the curb. Eyes wide like saucers it seems everything is trying to kill us. Hundreds of thoughts speed through our minds, causing much anxiety. Doubt creeps in. Finally, we're on the other side and think that wasn't so bad, maybe.
We've heard of the sufferings of other because they didn't look both ways, their vision was obstructed, their shoelace was untied, all that. We promise ourselves not to do such silly things. We will exercise caution every single time we go near a street.
After awhile our experience level puts to bed the primal anxiety we feel. Oh, we still look both ways, but it has become a commonplace event, even to the point that it sometimes seems we're merely going through the motions of looking both ways; looking but not seeing. Now we can concentrate more on the benefits of crossing, or more likely, wonder what's for dinner or, hey, how 'bout them Cubs!
Pretty soon we take our new found skill on the road. Just like at home, it's one step at a time in the big city. The cars and trucks are moving much faster here and there's so many of them so that old anxiety starts to surface. We just hunker down and think about the goal.
The years go by and we marvel at what we've accomplished. It is almost with disdain that we wonder what was it that had us so fearful back then. It's as if the only danger was in our minds, but now that the true perceptions have been made known we realize there is really nothing to it.
Having realized our perceptions of the past were false and that there is no real danger we drop our guard against something that really never existed. Or if it did exist we certainly made it more than it was.
So, we quit looking both ways; besides, the other guy is looking. County lane or city street, we tell ourselves there is no difference, it's all the same. We've done it thousands upon thousands of times before. Besides, what harm could there be in crossing the same street which I've crossed so often before? I know every inch of this street, I don't need to......BAM
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