How crazy is it that we can fly?

Today I spent the day above the clouds. Even with the technologies of today, it takes a long time to get home. Or, more accurately, to what used to be home.

Sitting on top of the world has got me thinking. Life is absolutely crazy. Even as I write this, I can look out the window and far below see the fluffy white mounds that look so soft even though science tells me it's a mass of crystallized water and ice that somehow manages to float though its weight could easily crush me. How are such magnificent things possible, and why am I lucky enough to experience and see them? We think about how 100 years ago we couldn't fly like this, but there are people in our world today who will never be this fortunate either. 

People used to never journey far from home - traveling great distances was just too physically taxing, dangerous, and expensive, etc. The expensive part may not have changed much, but in a few hours I can travel a distance that used to take months. I am so grateful that my views and experiences in this world, which I sometimes feel are so limited, are in fact so grand that the many people who have walked this earth before me could never have dreamt of them. Maybe I've never seen the ancient ruins of Greece, or heard the chimes of Big Ben. I've never been in the country that gave me my best friend, and the closest I've come to Asia is a sushi craving. But I've dug my feet into the sands on the coast of the Pacific. I've stood at the foot of some of the greatest mountains on this Earth. I've seen the sunrise on the prairies of Nebraska and set on the Washington Monument. Maybe it takes me a long time to get back home to my family. But it's a journey that I'll happily enjoy.

 PhotoADay - Something I wore today (and every day since June 5, 2010).