Flights of Fantasy

Come on.. You can’t deny.. Everyone has taken a flight of fantasy or even multiple flights.. It is a fun thing to do…

Most such flights though crash and burn. There are only a very few that soar higher and higher till they get to the escape velocity and go way beyond…

Why does it happen though? Why do most flights crash and burn? Why can’t every flight go beyond.

Because we overload them. Go ahead.. If you are the pilot of a flight currently up in the air… Turn back and look at the seats…imagine 30 rows.. 6 seats to a row. Every seat would be occupied with expectations. That’s 180. And don’t forget the cargo hold.. That is packed with expectations too! What are you flying people? You are not an airline? That can easily carry 180 people. You are carrying expectations… And they are heavy… Very very heavy.

They get heavier as you fly towards what you think is the destination. But nope that destination is a mirage (remember it is a fantasy). And soon enough, you will come crashing down and your fantasy will go up in flames.

That is what we do with our lives. We move towards the future and at every step, we burden ourselves. With expectations of course. The crash landing in this case is the disappointment.. Of reality not quite matching the fantasy. And no guesses for why it didn’t match.

The rare flight that doesn’t crash… Why doesn’t it crash.. Why does it go far and beyond and make even the reality so sublime? The answer is that it is not flying on an aircraft overloaded with expectations. The flight is not pushing for a destination and focused on thrill of flying and the fantasy. No expectation is bearing down on it. Perhaps shades of the iconic book by Richard Bach.

The person is reveling in the flight and where it is taking him or her… Enjoying the view, taking in the experiences that are coming along the way and the thrill is more about the journey than the expectation of reaching the destination.

Isn’t that how life should be? Free of everything we load ourselves with and set for disappointment.

Of course, the conventional amongst us… The left brain thinkers would vehemently oppose what I say. You are talking rubbish Samir. What you are talking about is not how humans live. We always have to work towards the future and work hard at it and achieve so much in life… Only then life will be lived well… Can’t argue with also guilty of that..

But the fact is, when we are doing all that..have we lived our lives? Or have we just existed and living life was just markers that symbolised a living…

It is not easy..and surely is not easy in the context that we live in. When it is not about our expectations but the expectations of the world around us that are working on us… We call them responsibilities.. We call them commitment.

Choose moments within all this.. Little moments where the flight is not burdened.. Make them your own little oasis…

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