airplane's alternative meanings 飛行的多重意義
ofc i had to write this on a flight 前幾天的飛行隨筆
Hello to all the old & new friends of City Girl Slow Life this week — after being on the road for 2 years straight, I had decided to slow down and not travel for a while as I wanted to be able to focus my energy on figuring out my “flow state” & “life’s purpose” during my sabbatical. A few days ago I took my first flight after 4 months, and that has prompted me to reflect on flying & what it means to me. Enjoy!
Flights symbolize reunion, adventure, and most importantly, sanctuary. As a girl with families in two cities, flying is the default activity whenever time permits. And once that said girl has obtained financial independence, flying has a newfound meaning: an escape, a chance to explore something new.
But what’s more to flying is that it’s a sanctuary, especially flying long hours alone.
Growing up with cellphones that evolved into smartphones, connecting with friends from endless SMS messages to instant pings with social media — flying became the time to disconnect. Airplane mode: no more data can be transferred. It’s as if time paused, and all you can work with is the information you have already: the photos on your phone, the notes in your notepad, your journal, and your subconscious which usually gets ignored when you’re too stimulated by the outside world.
With an easy few taps on the inflight entertainment system, you can easily plug your consciousness back into an endless stream of data and entertainment. However, I stopped watching movies on flights in the past two years when I started flying very frequently (the audio and visual quality aren’t even that great anyway). And I try not to purchase inflight wifi unless I have work I have to do during the flight. Instead, I try to journal and meditate when I’m 29,000 feet above sea level. When else do you have uninterrupted time, when you don’t get push notifications, when even if you try to check you will have no new mail or new messages to check?
Mentally it’s a sanctuary.
Then I noticed I could sleep quite well on flights which felt counterintuitive as it doesn’t seem natural in my economy seat while sitting upright. I consulted a neurologist about this in which he responded matter-of-factly: “This is normal. Being on a plane is like being in your mom’s womb when you were being conceived.” I was shocked. Flights were not designed to simulate a womb, but to simply allow people to travel from one location to another in an economical way. However, by putting people so close to one another in a metal-enclosed space with loud engine sounds, in many subtle ways, our body is reminded closely of the times when we were conceived. Our biological instincts treat this experience like being in a safe space.
Physically it’s also a sanctuary.
Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and enjoy the rare chance of being disconnected. And by the time you get off the flight, enjoy the first breath of fresh air that hits your nostrils again. It’s kind of like your very first breath. And you are reborn again.
I finished ‘s book "The Pathless Path" on my last long-haul flight, and it was great! It puts so many of my thoughts on ‘purpose in life’ / 'working towards your calling’ etc into words. I appreciate the energy & time you put into this! 💖 It inspires me to put my own story into words, and I can’t wait to share that soon as well.
城市女孩・慢生活的新舊朋友們，這週過得好嗎？在不間斷的旅行兩年後，選擇留職停薪的同時我也選擇暫時不要再旅遊了，好能靜下心來做其他想做的事情。前幾天是我四個月以來第一次搭飛機，我便藉此反思了一下搭飛機對我的意義。
搭飛機的意義對我來說既是重逢，又是探險，但近來更覺得它實際像個庇護所一般。從小因為核心家庭橫跨兩個城市，搭飛機是只要一有時間的訪親之必要行程，而當我長大、經濟獨立之後，搭飛機不再是為了訪親，而是演變成探索未知世界的途徑。
但當我開始更長一個人搭長途飛機之後，機艙宛如一個心靈庇護所一般的陪伴著我的每一趟旅程。
從一般的手機演變為智能手機、一封兩三元的簡訊到有網路就可以無限量收到社交媒體的即時訊息，只有在飛機上沒有網路的時候才能輕鬆的與世隔絕。開啟飛航模式後，沒有任何資訊可以遠端傳輸後，彷彿時間停止般。頓時發現，現在不能再去求取新的資訊了，手邊只有：手機裡的照片、筆記本裡的筆記、日記簿、 以及平常被外在環境掩蓋的潛意識。
雖然飛機可以隨時點閱機上娛樂系統，又可花錢購買機上網路，可以輕鬆地過著與地面上相似的時光，但從兩年前我開始頻繁飛行後，我決定暫時不要一直看電影，除非必要也不要買網路了。我嘗試著在飛機上寫日記、練習冥想，畢竟除了在飛機上的時候，還有什麼時候你可以理所當然的不受外界干擾、不必收任何訊息通知，即便你想分心去看，也沒有半則新通知呢？
這也就是為什麼我覺得搭飛機時有種心靈庇護所的感覺。
爾後我也發現，我在飛機上睡得很好，而且好到好像比平日睡覺還睡得好似的。這是我很難理解的，畢竟我也都是搭經濟艙啊。我有一次去看神經外科的時候，順便詢問了一下醫生，他竟然跟我說：「你在飛機上睡得很好正常啊，你的身體應該覺得回到胎兒時期，彷彿還在媽媽的肚子裡呢。」飛機雖然設計的時候不是仿造一個胎盤的樣子，卻因為是一個密閉空間、又有很大的引擎聲音，讓人有種回到母胎的感覺，即便它實際的功能也只是讓人可以加速從兩地之間通勤所花的時間。我們的生物本能將這個視為一個安全的所在地。
也就是說，除了心靈相個庇護所，身體也將此視為一個庇護所。
那下次你也搭上飛機時，記得深呼吸，試著清空你的大腦，並好好享受難得與世隔絕的機會。當你下飛機時，更可以珍惜第一口新鮮的空氣，有點想是呱呱墜地的那一刻一樣，你也可以體會一個重生的感覺～
I can't really sleep on long haul flights since they're too cold for me, however I do love the cabin noise while the lights are off. I love how you've reshaped the experience of flying as a sanctuary - I'll try to do the same next time I'm travelling. As I've only recently started meditating, I think this would be a great opportunity to disconnect and reflect as well
They are super cold! I always wear many layers on a flight. And double blankets usually too. That should help with the sanctuary feeling as well :) Let me know about your inflight meditation next time!