37,000 ft.

You wouldn’t expect that at 37,000 feet trapped in a 737 you would be experiencing nature. However, the unexpected is indeed a possibility any time when living in a world where mother nature does not care too much about her inhabitants. Today is November 10, 2018 and as I am writing this piece, I am at exactly 37,000 feet in an American Airlines aircraft experiencing severe turbulence while on my way back from Boston. It’s not every day that the pilot comes on the intercom and says that he has requested help from Air Traffic Control about our situation and we should stay calm and stay tuned. Earlier in the day it was reported to other pilots that the weather was fairly clear expect for some odd air patterns at high altitudes. So, in other words probably not the best of days to be flying across the country.

At the same time though, it is one incredible view from up here – the clouds floating thousands of feet below you instead of above you (creating shapes only the imagination can be thrilled by), the rivers that you can make out go on for miles and miles, and the air temperature somewhere around -60 degrees Fahrenheit (easily could kill you in a matter of seconds). You don’t really think about how the world is not ours and we don’t owe it a thing. When flying through mother nature’s skies it takes some severe turbulence to get you to think of this tin can as something other than natural and normal. We are fighting against the mighty winds, the sudden weather changes, and the unexpectedness of the Earth up here; in some way, it’s scary to think no matter how hard we try, mother nature will do what it wants, whenever it wants, and to whomever it wants.

 However, I think one of the best things about flying is being able to experience the world from a whole new perspective; you can see the tree tops, become eye level with the creatures of the skies, and see some pretty rad corn mazes. It really puts your life into perspective as well – go live and breathe in the fresh outdoors, climb the mountain you thought you never could, bend down and look at the tiny ant carrying that piece of bread – you really never know when it could be your last day to do so. Today, at 37,000 feet, I am grateful for the many experiences I have had with nature and the many new experiences (such as this severe turbulence) I get to have each day. It is definitely one of those days where I will be kissing the ground once I land – thanking mother nature for allowing me yet another day to be part of her world.