Traversing Distances

This past week has seen me travel thousands of miles – from DC to Chicago, then Chicago to Zurich to Mumbai. I have been encapsulated in gravity-defying, gargantuan metal tubes with gigantic magic wings. I have been nourished and cared for in this unreal shell, insulated from freezing temperatures and unfeeling elements, far above the earth’s surface. I never cease to wonder at the incredible human progress that allows us to be transported thus, over vast lands and high mountains and deep oceans, to arrive unerringly at a safe and specific destination.

And, I have traversed other distances. I met with friends not seen in over a decade, using technology to find them and bridge the interim years. I navigated emotional spaces, using words and images transmitted miraculously over telephone and satellite cables. I spanned intellectual divides, with the realization that deep connections extend beyond rational minds…

While modern innovation makes each crossing possible, I believe all journeys must still end in human contact. Ultimately, it narrows down to warm connections, shared experience and the age-old human touch. I am blessed to have so many loved ones, in so many distant corners of the world. But there is another side to this coin. No matter where in the world I might be, there is always a beloved person I am removed from - till it’s time to travel back.

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