The Horizon Line

I went around the world this week.  Modern travel makes this far more feasible than that sounds. It's not extraordinary, it simply requires lots of sitting.  Its is special if you've not travelled too much, or perhaps if you envy long periods of sitting. I don't know anyone in the latter situation, but in that sense - it is a big world, so who knows.

I travel for business very frequently, and one of the side benefits of that is the ability to travel for pleasure. Loyalty begets loyalty in this sense, though if I had colds and fever sickness frequently, I don't know that I'd like to be rewarded with more of the same.  Perhaps airlines don't grasp some of the "fun" their own consumption experience entails.

I have come away from this week with the renewed understanding that our planet is indeed small. Getting around it all is easy. It might be a real feat to be on a Jupiter size planet and circumnavigate. Then flying at 1000 km/h, like as on a boat here on Earth,  it might take months or years.  But in our part of the solar system, we're talking about 40 hours of sitting. Big deal.  

What it brings into perspective is our fragility, due to our small size. This is relative of course. Sure, I'd hate to have to walk around the world, but think about the snail or worm's progress across the sidewalk. Then think about the Albatross, Arctic tern or Grey whale that regularly span hemispheric oceans every season.  If animals do this, as part of their innate DNA - then why do we think this is special..?

We would all approach the world differently if we were more migratory as people.  Without being 'travellers', our horizon is our whole world and the empowerment that we offer to the horizon line is self defeating I think.  "If I can't see past it, the places beyond must be far away."  Poppycock.  That's some sort of pre-historic, latency issue that was intended to ensure we didn't get lost from the pack of proto-humans we lived with for self-protection.  If I travel the world, the sabre tooth tiger doesn't get me these days, though duty-free stores may.

The other horizon-line fallacy invoked is that we can we can do what we want to the planet, and it is big enough to recover. (Hence my fragility comment) Problems only manifest past the horizon.  Sure that sounds silly, but look at history - when does the US enter WWII ? Post their islands being attacked. When a bus plunges somewhere in the world, it's only news if 3 XXX's were onboard. (At XXX, insert your nationality here). Polar ice-cap melting? Sure seems cold here in winter still. If stuff happens 'over there', past the horizon it doesn't matter to us as much as if it was right in front of us. 

Imagine for a moment that you are driving in a car, over a bridge.  Over water.  Suddenly, the car veers of the bridge, and into the water and sinks towards the bottom.  

Clearly, you're having a bad day in this car. Underwater.

What becomes evident very fast is that you're about to run out of air, and so effort is made to escape the car to avoid drowning.  That all makes sense, we would all react that way.  And I think the allusion is also clear.  You see we're all in the same car, and it is small, though due to the horizon line..we don't quite acknowledge that yet, this fact that we're in deep trouble.  Even though there's significant evidence to support the fact we're in trouble. 

Ignoring the fact doesn't make our "air" last longer to extend the analogy, it just gives us less reaction time.  Do you think more or less reaction time is beneficial if in that unfortunate situation?

I, for one, wish we'd all understand this horizon line bias that colours our perceptions about our world, as I think it would change how we approached just about everything.  

Summit the Mountain in Front of You

You'll find it's easier than trying to climb a far away or future one. 

Stretching

Sometimes we relax and enjoy down time. It's deserved, (or not) and we indulge a little.  Other times though we prepare ourselves, take a deep breath and stretch.  We push beyond our comfort zones knowing it is good for us.   This can happen in a workout or other favourite activity when we go harder for a defined short term - the sprint at the end of a run. Or it can happen over the long haul when we make life altering decisions such as moving away from the single life and deciding to have a family.  There's a middle ground though that I think represents the hardest type of stretch.  That extended but not permanent commitment to something that will do us good over the mid-term.  A year long decision to really change a pattern in your life.  There's no shortcut on these. 

Stretching isn't easy. It requires a degree of self motivation and will power. It requires that we put what's good for us ahead of what's comfortable.  And like anything we decide, there's is a need for commitment to stick with it.  With that in mind, when we see others stretch it impresses us - certainly it impresses me.  I think we place ourselves in the others' shoes for a moment and ask if we could do it.  We consider it, and quickly and if only superficially grasp what is needed for that stretch , for that movement outside where we feel safe.  We recognize it.  

I know someone that's stretching now.  I know she's not 100% ok with it. And I'm really blown away by her personal strength to do it.  I hope to be inspired by  her to explore new areas for myself and I'm not so secretly wishing her tremendous good fortune as we don't see this kind of thing everyday.  

Look around and give yourself a pat on the back if you 'stretch' regularly.  You deserve it.