Night Flight

From my window, I saw the world outside tilt. As I held on to keep my balance, I saw the runway disappear. Within seconds, looking outside my window seemed like looking into a treasure chest; city lights turning into gold necklaces, silver bangles and ruby studs, glistening against the velvety darkness of the night.

Photo by my husband, Arpit Haldar

A few more minutes and the plane was surrounded by a mystic abyss. We navigated through the smokey clouds in jerky motion, not knowing where we were headed but simply trusting the pilot - a man we had never met.

Then, suddenly, some light! It seemed like we had reached the end of a dark tunnel. Apparently, we were just passing by the moon's nightly abode. I looked through my window and saw the grandeur  of the moon as she sat on her throne, flanked by glorious clouds. It was a full moon night and the stunning play of moonbeams and shadows left me gazing in awe. I had known the moon that raced by my side as I sat behind my father on the scooter. I didn't know this moon, the one that stayed put, stared intently into my eyes as I passed by, and even smirked at my failed attempts to photograph her.

We slipped into the darkness again. For several minutes, my window showed me nothing outside as we passed over a dark sea shrouded by a dark sky. When only my own physical reflection stared back at me, I looked away and turned towards the reflections of my mind.

Every flight journey is made by faith. Faith in the pilot, faith in technology, faith that the sky - without roads or signals or visible routes - can be navigated. Faith that, even when we see nothing outside the window, the pilot sees the way. Faith that everything will go on fine, that we are travelling in the right direction and that we will be dropped off at the right location. We can't track our location on our smartphones to see how far we've come. We simply have to keep calm, do nothing and wait.

A flight journey is like life. Sometimes we can see where we are going, but there's always going to be a period of turbulence, a period when we can't see even a glimmer of light, a period when we just have to have faith that God - even though we haven't seen him with our eyes - sees clearly through the fog, knows what he's doing and will take us safely home.

My mind satiated by these thoughts, I closed my eyes and began to doze. I lean for a few minutes into my partner's shoulder, only to be woken up - a little too soon - by an announcement over the microphone. We were landing and, yet again, it was time to fasten my seatbelt and look out the window. A new world of possibilities was waiting outside, a treasure trove of precious tomorrows, an assortment of smooth, sunny journeys and turbulent ones in the darkness.

I only had to trust the pilot and enjoy the ride!