In Flight Reflections on the Sprawl

            I am currently in the middle of our flight to Iceland, soaring above the island of Greenland.  So far on the flight I have finished reading the required book The Windows of Brimness by Bill Holm, tried to sleep a little bit, failed multiple times to get the in flight movie screen to actually play movies (I was attempting to watch Crazy Heart), succeeding in using the said device to listen to a little Bjork as I do not own any myself but found it fitting in light of our present destination, failed at sleeping in the seat that seems adamant on resisting my desires to get it to recline, and (in light of the latter failure) decided to use my waking moments to start blogging for the trip.  It is apparent that my attempts at writing at this present time are laden with intent to capture something of the existential.   When one travels, worlds inevitably collide, converse and, hopefully, befriend.  The process is so simple, standard and ageless that it hardly seems worth pointing out.  Yet, there are elements of entering a new world that are continually new and vibrant, regardless of how many Vikings have ventured into them before me.

            There are many a Teutonic individual who have been to this land on which I soon hope to land and many of whom have ventured there in far more rugged circumstances than I.  In the book I just finished, Holm makes mention of Iceland being originally discovered by a Norwegian going for a joyride in his longboat three fourths of the way into the ninth century.  As I doubt his longboat had access to movies with Jeff Bridges like the IcelandAir flight on which I am traveling, I feel my transcendental wanderings hardly compare to arriving in Iceland over icy, torrent seas on a few planks of wood carried primarily by individual grit.  Still, though I feel very over matched by the venturings of the Vikings, there is something epic about our travels to the land known for its glaciers, even it is only by way of a five hour flight in a temperature controlled cabin.

            As people are moving all over the world, out and about and to and fro, there are elements of our sprawl that will always be unique, particular and, I must say it again, epic.  Though on the macro level people have been traveling since we lost our seats in paradise and have met all sorts of Cain’s people along the way, there are elements of every meeting that mark our place in history- even if they do not stand distinct relative to one another.  Though my travels to Iceland will likely not be remembered or have the impact on the country in a way even remotely close to that of the Norwegian 1300 years ago, they will be epic.  In my sprawl I will meet other sprawlers, and I will encounter where others have chosen long ago to make their stand in the universe.  These encounters will probably not lead to founding colonies but they will lead me to see the world and others in new ways. 

            I am currently listening to Arcade Fire’s song Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) which not only rocks one’s socks off, but also tells of the movement of persons encircling our modern cities in a siege of mundane living.  Indeed, though I have not really lived much of my life in suburban areas there is much to the emotions that the song conveys which gets at a real irony of what I have experienced in the past while traveling and hope to experience on this voyage.  The sprawl has overtaken me many times before as I have remained located in one spot without hope of movement.  The feeling is one of being stuck; bogged down in the proverbial mud.  The irony is that I have gotten out of it in the past by voyaging and, ultimately, sprawling away to other parts of the country and world.  It is the sprawling of persons that makes me feel stuck and to feel unstuck I sprawl myself.  So much for consistency.  Fortunately, I am no stranger to contradicting myself and I rather enjoy it at times.  As a result, I am able to see that in the midst of my own sprawling conceived in the sprawling of the world around me I am able to find my place.  Sprawling around the world leads me to come back home and see what place is all about, what home is all about, and what life is all about.  I do not recommend that one take to sprawling lightly (it can be dangerous to really lose yourself), but I can say that it is good to be on this flight on this voyage to Iceland.  In fact, it is so good that perhaps next time I will take a long boat.

Bless us in our travels, oh Lord, that they may be epic.  May our voyage carry us safely to our destination and our hearts be open to those whom we will meet.  Bless our way that in our travels we may encounter you all along the way.