[View from a flight home from Tokyo in 2005.]
I have been posting a lot of these bird's-eye views from airplanes lately - have I just been fixated on my next journey or does it mean something else?
Either way, I'm about to have a rather large chunk of time to ponder that and any other questions rattling around in my brain. Five hours from Los Angeles to New York followed by eleven hours from New York to Amman - yes, I'd say that's plenty of time to over-analyze my choice of blog imagery for the past week.
Believe it or not, I am looking forward to the time. Time in an airplane means one simple thing: Time to myself. No phones, no internet, no errands, no laundry. Just me in a tiny space where I've been known to spend hours at a time just staring out the window. How often do I do that in my normal day-to-day routines? That would be never.
I have a few posts scheduled to go up this week while I am away, but I won't be blogging, emailing or twittering while I am in Jordan. I know there is a certain allure to documenting my experiences in real time, but I also know that any minute I spend with my attention on an iPhone or laptop is attention taken away from whatever I'll be seeing and experiencing in Jordan. It takes effort to stop, pull away from what is directly in front me and type whatever I might feel compelled to type, and in that break, time is lost. What could have been a naturally flowing experience is instead broken up in smaller bits - episodes interrupted by blocks of time spent with my head buried in a wireless device - head down, eyes on a screen, attention diverted away from what is going on around me.
This week, I will be in Jordan, and when I say I will be in Jordan, I mean I will be in Jordan. And although the technological wonders of our day could enable me to stay connected to the rest of the world with the same intensity and frequency that I have when I'm home, I'm planning on leaving all that behind, and saving my stories for when I return. It was an interesting thought experiment to visualize what it might look and feel like to be standing in front of Petra - fulfilling a dream I've had for years - only to take my full attention away from it to shout out to the online world that I'm standing in front of Petra. When I really looked at that, it became clear to me that my intention needs to be about being there, plain and simple.
I suppose a more succinct way of saying all this is that I am looking forward to stepping away from my computer and my phone, and enjoying a journey I've dreamed about for many years. Petra awaits, or should I say, I await Petra, and whatever messages this journey has in store for me.
Lovely pictures, brought back some great memories for me.
Posted by: Neil | November 05, 2010 at 11:06 AM
Have a fantastic trip-- I can't wait to hear about it when you get back! And good for you for leaving the technology behind. I agree about it taking away from the full experience of life sometimes. Safe travels!!
Posted by: jess gonacha swift | March 02, 2010 at 04:36 AM
have an absolutely amazing time! enjoy every single second and may you find all that you need in your journey. happy travels! ciao!
Posted by: Nadia | March 01, 2010 at 08:05 AM
I totally agree about airplane time. I was very disappointed when one of my recent flights had on-board wireless, because my time in the air is my time to completely unplug from the outside world.
I wish you safe and wonderful travels, and look forward to hearing stories of them on your return!
Posted by: Jenn C. | February 28, 2010 at 05:52 PM
I wish you fullness of experience in this journey. What a great gift to give yourself: the fullness of an experience you have long desired, with no interruptions, just presence. It's a rare gift these days, isn't it? Because as you said, the instinctive response in us more and more is to tweet or blog our experiences as they come, breaking them up into bite-sized pieces, and losing the immediacy of what is before us so that it can go deeper inside us.
I look forward to hearing the stories when you return. But in the meantime I wish you presence.
Posted by: Christianne | February 28, 2010 at 04:21 PM
I just LOVE riding in airplanes. Peace and quiet. The clouds below you. Always sunny above the clouds.
Lindsey Petersen
http://5kidswdisabilities.wordpress.com
Posted by: Lindsey Petersen | February 28, 2010 at 04:02 PM