Because I Fly …
I have been sitting here staring at my computer screen for twenty minutes and I am no closer to being able to describe what it meant to me to fly again than I was twenty minutes ago. I know some of you will be laughing at that because I am seldom at a loss for words, especially when it comes to writing.
The one thing that I am absolutely certain of is that flying is an intensely personal experience. I know without question that the feelings it evokes, the meaning it has, will be different for each person and that I cannot possibly find the words to explain. I was almost afraid to fly again. Afraid that it would somehow be different, that it would have lost the magic and wonder of those first amazing flights. But I need not have worried.
Again I was in awe of the gentleness of the Fokker. The feeling that it is part of the sky rather than overpowering it as a commercial jet does. The feeling that you are cradled by the wind rather than sitting in an airplane. The feeling of complete freedom, with no boundaries, no restraint.
Johan took us out over the beautiful Cederberg mountains that have so captured my heart, over fields of wild flowers, cascading waterfalls and magnificent vistas. Flying low over herds of Eland, Springbok and horses. Flying high through spectacular canyons and mountains. Circling home over the impressive Clanwilliam Dam and the meandering Olifants River.
Yes, flying was different this time … but no less amazing. Those first flights had left me overwhelmed by the wonder of the overall experience, unable to separate or even recall the individual elements. I was so totally enraptured with the cascade of emotions they evoked that they seemed almost surreal.
This time was different. With the perspective of time spent reflecting on those early flights, this flight was exactly the opposite. Each element is crystal clear in my memory, each moment indelibly marked on my consciousness and on my heart. But through all of that it remained no less magical, no less wonderous … and I hope it never does.
It is why I don’t take a camera with me when we fly. For me, it will never be about what is on the ground or what I can see …
… it will always be about what I feel.
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Morag