I have a fascination for aircrafts. I think it really started when I chanced on a show on National Geographic, Air Crash Investigations. In this show, they investigate planes that have crashed, or planes that nearly crashed. Now, although I really love the show, I wouldn’t recommend, and this is because you may never be able to sit in a plane again. Every time I have sat in a plane since I started watching the show, I have had serious palpitations. In fact, honestly, I decided that it was unhealthy for me at a point, so I decided to break up with it. The fascination for aircrafts however still lingers. Every time I see a plane, I take my time to look at it and try to identify what make it is. I am this close to buying binoculars and becoming a plane spotter. So I’ll spend Saturdays in a position close to the Kotoka International Airport where I can see the planes land, taxi an take off. Please if you know of any plane spotting community in Ghana, link me to them ok? Kindly help a brother out.  

I chanced on this picture a while ago and it really struck me. It’s a picture of British Airways Airbus A380 just taking off from the ground. When I saw it, I just imagined myself sitting in the plane at that very moment. The slow approach the planes usually take as the line up on the runway, followed by the sudden acceleration that just precedes take off, as though the pilots just slammed their feet on the accelerator! Usually I would tense up a bit and say what could be my last prayers, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit”, because anything can happen. It’s this thrilling yet terrifying feeling. I smiled as my imagination drifted.  

But as I looked at the image, a strange thought crossed my mind. Let’s assume I know nothing about aircrafts. Say, I am a time traveler from the pre-Wright brothers’ era. So I know nothing about the powerful jet engines and what they can do. As a matter of fact, the only thing that takes to the sky are birds, and anything that goes up must come down under the force of gravity. If I were to chance on this picture, or ever see a giant flying can of metal with humans inside, I wouldn’t be thrilled one bit. I’d be horrified and upset! I would totally think that someone was playing an expensive game that would cost lives and millions. I would criticize the irresponsibility of the people who were behind this bad idea. I mean, this is exactly what they did to the Wright brothers, right? 

But all this would be out of sheer ignorance. Ignorance of the fact that so much thinking and planning has gone into the flight of the aircraft. And you will be amazed the amount of precision and thoughtful planning that goes into building these machines. It’s amazing that a nut not properly screwed in place can bring down a whole aircraft! A lot of work goes in behind the scenes to the success of these undertakings. And yet, one who is ignorant of these will only be negatively critical when these machines take to the skies. 

As I thought about it, I realized that in many ways, this is how people respond to success. As long as you’re in your little corner doing ordinary things, no one has qualms with you. But buy a big car, or do something massive and the criticisms start. I have seen that success is often associated with accusations of being fraudulent, and the eager anticipation of downfall. I myself realized that a while ago, immediately I saw a pastor performing some strange miracles, my first reaction was that of skepticism. When I heard someone was wealthy, I would raise a brow in suspicion, sometimes deep inside my heart. If everyone started listening to a preacher, then there was something wrong with his message. As long as 12 year old Jesus was teaching just like the Pharisees and Sadducees, they were happy with him. Immediately he started casting out devils, they said he was demon possessed.  

Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of this mentality is that people who are critical of flights hardly fly. People critical of success hardly ever become successful. I realize that successful people hardly criticize success themselves. Maybe they understand that success takes a lot of diligence and hard work behind the scenes. When I found out b God’s mercy that I had this mentality too, I decided to consciously respect and celebrate success first. It is even a much brighter outlook on life.  I would be genuinely happy for them, and try to draw close to learn the secret processes and ways by which they took off to the skies. You’d be surprised the amount of investments some of these “one-man church” pastors make. Some of them spend hours and hours in prayer daily. They read and read on anything and everything. There are ways and processes to success. I would also pray for them, that their success would last long.  

Maybe, just maybe, if we celebrated flights, in no time we will all take to the skies.