So the other night I saw a hot air balloon up close. There was one getting ready to launch right across the street from me. My long time readers know I have kind of a thing about hot air balloons.
If you've only seen a hot air balloon in the sky or on tv, you can't really appreciate how big they are, and how big the flame they use is. Silly as they are, a hot air balloon is an awe-inspiring vehicle.
One of my favorite things about motorcycles (apart from toe-dragging turns, low fuel costs, and plausible excuse to wear body armor) is that when riding I'm a part of everything I see, not just watching it from the security of my car. I can sit across the road from a hot air balloon (or whatever) and really appreciate the complete hot-air-balloon-ness of what I'm seeing. It's not TV, it's not a picture, it's not behind glass, it's right there and I can reach out and touch what I'm looking at if I want to.
The illusion of safety and security one gets in a car, or anywhere really, comes at the cost of detachment and alienation from real living. Real life is dangerous. If the world can't poke you now and then, you're depriving yourself of the opportunity to poke the world back.
Take a risk, put away your security blanket, breathe the free air and remember that the only real security and safety comes from within you.
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