As the engines spool up to high thrust and the plane starts rolling down the runway, we feel a strong push pressing our back firmly into our seat. People may experience a mix of physical forces and emotional reactions. However at the same time, for many, travelers, there is a rush of adventure, wanderlust, or a sense of liberation as familiar ground slips away.
This is what I was observing during my my last flight. While lining up on the runway, the cabin feels a bit quiet or tense as passengers brace for the speed and noise of departure. As the plane climbs sharply, our inner ear can register a transient feeling of heaviness, a drop in our stomach, or a sensation similar to starting an uphill climb on a roller coaster. But down somewhere looking out the window, we get to see some a pictursheque beauty of the earth. The earth quickly shrinks into a detailed, miniature map of houses, roads, and green fields. Massive peaks that appears gignatic from the ground starts looking small. A quite similar to what google #maps provides us on the internet.
The view of the Earth transforms rapidly from a ground.level perspective into a detailed aerial map. The moment the wheels leave the ground, hangars, airport fences, and nearby cars quickly shrink into miniature toy like shapes. We can see the grass fields next to the runway, airport terminals, and nearby roads expand into a sharp, close up map right beneath us. What used to feel like a flat horizon begins to stretch out, revealing distant towns, hills, or coastlines that were hidden when you were standing on the ground.
Before we get lost in the clouds and before leveling up at high altitude, the earth looks as gorgeous as it could be. Roads, houses, farmlands, building and even mountain appears too smaller. From an airplane window, high mountain peaks appear dramatic, layered, and vast. I find these mountain which are now appears to be tiny terrain.
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As the plane climbs higher, the urban layout of the city stretches far eventually fading into the horizon or a blanket of clouds. I had a mix of intense awe, wonder, and a sudden sense of unity with all of humanity. Never seen the earth in this way. I was lost in maze of cooourful blocks of farms, mountains and roads. Quite fantastic to observe at s7ch an height. I can understand how the astronouts would be feeling seeing them from the galaxy.
In good faith - Peace!!
