the phenomenology of travel

how fast do we go

when we walk
about 2 -3 miles per hour

when we ride a bicycle
about 10 miles per hour (avg.)

when driving in a car
from 20 to 80 miles per hour

when flying in an airplane
a private airplane
about 150 - 200 miles per hour

when flying in a jet
approx. 500 to 600 miles per hour

we are then confronted with the
fact that all that is
the being of life
passes before or under us
in ways that are difficult to notice

looking out the window of a jet airliner
one can observe clouds
or the contour of the land below
and because the plane is
contained we are hardly aware
that we are travelling so fast

yet it is something to reflect upon
when one travels a few thousand miles
in one day

i try to keep a walking pace
whereever i go
so that what i see
is noticed as if on a walk

but i know sometimes i am oblivious
to everything other than the
quick passing of time
getting from one place to the next
as a mere function of being
and an act of basic
pedestrian transference of
beings and place
a going to and a coming from

that is all