Riding The Clouds Of Heaven

Quietening yourself as the world around you roars is difficult.

Close your eyes. Mariah Carey's Hero hums in the background. And peace is attained.

The morning was beautiful. Bright blue sky with whisps of heavenly white clouds floating about. Serenity. And I float on these very clouds to that morning.

In the distance, there is a rumbling, moving closer, increasing in volume. And it continues to do so till this rumbling is so loud it rips the air as it travels to your ears.

The metallic bird then comes into view, soaring through the skies as if God created it as a definiton of elegance and agility. Living near an airport, I get to hear the daily drills of fighter jets. And my annoyance was evident every morning.

This morning, however, I had the opporunity of laying eyes on this magnificient creature. Despite the sun rays streaming down, I refused to take my gaze off it. I watched it dip and swerve with grace of a prima ballerina.

More than anything else, there was something exceptionally romantic about it all. I imagined the air force pilot seated in that magnificent metallic bird and my heart fluttered at his gallantry as he took charge of his beast. 'Show off,' I thought flirtatiously. And I fell in love, if not with anything else, with the fantasy.

And I was powerless against its ability to bring this unbelievable joy to my soul and the most sincere of smiles to my lips. Looking around, I observed that this sensational joy had seeped into the souls of those around me as well. From a sweeper on the road to a businessman walking out of his home, from a child running around barefoot to the guard standing at the gate, from a man selling vegetables on a cart to a university student like myself.

And as quickly as it came, it went, riding on the clouds of heaven.