Thursday’s Thirst
The Art or Knack of Flying
There is an art or rather a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day and try it.
The first part is easy. All that is required is the simple ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it is going to hurt. That is, it is going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground.
Most people fail to miss the ground and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hardly. Clearly, it is the second part, the missing, which presents the most difficulties.
One problem is that you have to miss the ground accidentally. It is no good deliberately intending to miss the ground because you won’t. You have to have your attention suddenly distracted by something else when you are halfway there, so that you are no longer thinking about falling, or about the ground or how much it is going to hurt if you fail to miss it.
It is notoriously difficult to pry your attention away from these three things during the split second you have at your disposal. Hence most people’s failure, and their eventual disillusionment with this exhilarating and spectacular sport.
If, however, you are lucky enough to have your attention momentarily distracted at the crucial moment then in your astonishment you will miss the ground completely and remain bobbing just a few inches above it in what seems like a slightly foolish manner.
This is a moment for superb and delicate concentration.
