I love travelling and the feeling of being at the airport is special. As it’s more than just about flying. For me airports are places that teach us so much about life.
The chaos at airport is very much about the chaos of life. In a single day we go through so many emotions from happiness, frustration, anxiety, anger, love to anticipation. You can witness all that and more at an airport in just an hour. As they are places where life quietly reveals its truths.
In our everyday life we often complain, crib and underestimate the most beautiful gift life as given us, but airports have a way of bringing this to life. Standing in long queues, watching parents reunite with tears, seeing a mother sending her child with a tight hug, watching solo travellers chasing dreams, feeling the pain of someone returning with her parent ashes, a child boarding her first flight, nervous old couple finding their grandchild in the security line, are signs of hope.
I love to observe fellow travelers as in their every move is the essence of life ‘to embrace what comes your way and yet hold the very next moment with smile’.
Airports show us patience when flights are delayed, lines are long and system fails; gratitude when journeys end safely, humility when we see how big the world is, end of life for some who meet the fateful incidents and inspiration when we watch people from every culture crossing paths for a moment in the same space. They are like little mirrors of life, full of arrivals and departures, waiting and rushing, goodbyes and new beginnings. And every time I am there, I am reminded to pause, breathe, and appreciate the gift of my own journey.
Across the world, each airport has its character and fragrance that leaves an after taste in your mind. Déjà vu of many emotions from excitement to reflection when you visit it again. From the rush of travel to anticipation of what next holds you on edge. Some travelers are calm while others panicked, though sometimes all boarding the same flight. A melting pot of emotions from the entry gate to boarding gates, shouting stories of many experiences and branches of life, signify unions and farewells
They have a vibe too. Far from crafted social media lives, airports are raw and real. It’s like an action movie live, human connection genuinely in the eye.
One of my favorite things about airports is how they act as an equalizer and bring the world together. You could be flying business or private jet; the same security line will humble you down. A conversation with your fellow traveler could the conversation to another culture, language, and personalities converging in one place. Making you realise how small you are in this enormous world, and yet how connected all of us are by the same hopes, to be home, to conquer that meeting, to hug a loved one, to return home, to explore, to begin again. Airports make me feel both insignificant and infinite at the same time, a feeling very few places can trigger. A beginning and end, all in one flight.
And then there’s the magic of possibility. Every takeoff is a new story, a new perspective, a new version of you waiting on the other side. There is a sense of movement, even before the plane takes off. Airports are where everything feels possible. Where you can watch the sun rise through giant glass windows and whisper to yourself, “there is my chariot.”
Yes, I love airports. Not just because they take me to new places, but because they bring me back to myself. Seeing smiles, tears, joy, anxiety, love, I feel positive about human connections, which makes us a unique species. They remind me to appreciate life with our loved ones and most importantly with a message to go and say what is in your heart, chase dreams, slow down a bit, look around and be mesmerized, breathe to pause, feel grateful for the gift of life.