RANDOM ACT OF METAPHOR: A JET PLANE ASCENDING A FEBRUARY SUNRISE

Hmmm, where is that Air Canada jet heading as it ascends to cruising altitude against the majestic orange glow of a February sunrise? Will the country in which it touches down be the safe haven it was when the Control Tower cleared the plane for takeoff?

Over 29 million people passed through Toronto's Pearson International Airport in 2010. A metropolis of people in constant motion from one city to another, one country to another, one continent to another. Transcontinental travel seems matter of fact now.

But I suspect those passengers in the Air Canada jet felt a flutter in their hearts when the wheels let go their grip on the runway. In this turbulent age, traveling outside our borders is akin to Russian roulette. It's anybody's best guess which will be the next country plunged into political turmoil, civil war or the grip of terrorism.

Not so very long ago, I would watch that jet stream spreading across the morning sky with a stirring of envy. Wishing that I could be settled into one of the seats heading off to an exotic vacation in some foreign land of enchantment and new wonders.

Now I'm happy that my feet are planted firmly on the ground in a country where we are blessed with democracy, affluence and peace. I'm quite content to limit my wanderlust to the marshes, fields and forests of Canada where the most I have to worry about is a wrong turn on the trail that leaves me disoriented for a moment.

A jet plane in ascent across the horizon of a February sunrise – a random act of metaphor to remind us that there is no guarantee of tomorrow and that where we are may just be where we should be content to stay.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com.