Small Talk
There's just something about a great view. City skylines, mountain valleys, the deep blue expanse of oceans thousands of feet below the airplane window. Views are often earned —after a long climb up narrow staircases or rocky hills — and sometimes surprises. No matter how we arrive at them or the scenery that awaits, the feeling is always the same: that removed quiet. Lost in our thoughts, in the beauty and the vastness of it all, it is always quiet.
And despite how many people are around us, or however many have witnessed the same sight before us, we always feel that it is ours alone.
"I have to show you my view," we tell friends. "One day, I'll take you," we say, as if we are its sole keeper, and it is only ours to share.
A great view is the traveler's gift and her curse. We travel to seek out the world, to absorb it, to conquer it. A great view shows us everything and nothing at the same time. It deludes us. "Now I've seen it all," we think, when deep down we know that though we've seen scope, we will never be able to see every detail.
We often gasp at the sights our eyes behold. But are we really struck by the beauty? Or is this intake of breath just our minds remembering that we are small? Just one tiny object occupying space, silly enough to think that this entire view could ever be only ours.
We try to claim things as our own in hopes that we'll leave our mark on the world. Travelers are especially guilty of this. We take pictures, buy mementos, write articles, just to ensure that others know where we've been. But there's a reason why the picture of a view never turns out quite as good, why it's beautiful but no longer awe-inspiring. A great view refuses to be contained.
And this is how it should be. We can never fully comprehend a great view and we should never try. When we are stuck in the real world, tirelessly working to forge a name for ourselves, a great view brings us back down to Earth by presenting us with a glimpse of its wonders. One look and we realize that sometimes, it's better to let go and lose ourselves in the "bigness" of it all.
