The dream of flight
We do not dream enough of flying. If we did it is possible we could do more than we’ve ever done so far. Our dreams are too bound to the ground, too down-to-earth and so they are heavy and sluggish. They live at the mercy of gravity, which is always an inflexible slave driver, unmoving and unmoved by whim and fantasy. Whim and fantasy are for us mostly caprice. We think we are too poor for these things, not knowing that it is perhaps because we think this way that we are poor.
And yet the dream of flying is merely an urge to leave hard earth to which we are rooted. It is the dream of losing the weight the binds us to the planet. We think we are part of the planet itself and yet it we left it long enough we would see for certain that the planet is not us. It is a different entity altogether. And then we might see the planet for what it is. We would see for once if it is as beautiful as we always thought it was. But before we can do that we would have to leave the ground and mark a position in the sky. We would first have to fly.
The dream of flying dates back to ancient times, to old myths and legends. Mercury, Pegasus and Alladin, they were fliers. So too Icarus and Daedalus. The sigbin is also a flier. They embody an inner aspiration to travel, to be somewhere else besides the ground we stand on. But more than this, they embody romance. They embody the will to escape.
The ground is only drudgery. It is us as we always have been for far too long. It is the endless cycle, the usual manner of doing things and going about life, the usual haunts, the daily rituals, the work. They are comfort zone, the boundaries to define us and the way we go about life itself. They are nice. But they are only daily fare. They are not exception.
To fly is to think differently away from the box. It is the lifting of one’s feet from the ground and then for a few instances of time to feel the sense of lift, of weightlessness; to be as air and move where the wind will take us.
To fly is to reinvent ourselves without the usual constraints. It is to cast ourselves differently as if we never had to go through everything we did in the course of growing up: all those rules our parents taught us, all those training and motivating for success, all those rules and principles we now completely abide by, destiny, fate.
They are nice. But how would we know exactly how nice unless for a while we were someone else? How else would we know if they are the only way for us?
To fly is to be changed perhaps completely. To fly is to be open to change.
It has nothing to do with personal will or logic. It has nothing to do especially with science. Science has given us many means of flying. But they are not true flight. They are merely sitting down on something that flies. They are fun only for a few times and then we would rather sleep through everything.
True flight is something else. It is not as difficult as you think. It is easy.
You will need wings. That much is certain. You will need a lot of strength. But only as much as is required for the weight you carry. Thus, you would first have to unload yourself of baggage you do not need. Wear only light clothes, a pair of shorts and the lightest T-shirt possible.
Put on wings. Bring them downwards a few times to test how they work. Feel them lift you at the shoulders. Bring them down a bit farther in a smooth long stroke. Feel your feet lift from the ground just a few inches at first. Test bringing yourself a little higher and then higher still. As you do, test your dynamics with the wind. Let the wind land you a bit away from where you stood. Feel your wings move you higher with every downward stroke. See, it is not difficult.
But you are not yet flying. Before you do this, for safety’s sake, you must first learn how to land. Flap your wings enough times to bring you at least five feet from the ground. At that height move your legs backwards lifting them up in turn. As you do this move your shoulders forward until you are in horizontal position to the ground. This will cause a shift in balance that will make you move glide forward. Increase this forward motion by flapping your wings. Now you are flying in the way God always meant flying to be. You are flying like a bird.
But don’t get too cocky. Flight is a discipline requiring a mastery that comes only with time and much practice. Start by mastering well how to land. Fly far, but not too far. Remember who you are and where you came from. Always be careful.
