Wings of Wax

For millennia, humans have envied other animals that can fly, birds to be more precise. Wings have fascinated humans everywhere. In popular Greek Mythology, we learn of the story of an inventor named Daedalus who made wings to escape into the sky with his son Icarus. In history, we learn of the daring exploits of the Wright brothers and their attempts to make an airplane. Ancient South American civilizations even worship a winged serpent named Quetzalcoatl. Flight has been a dream of the human race since the beginning.

Like most ambitions, once one is fulfilled, another begins. When man gained the ability to fly, they wanted to soar higher - so they did. They reached great heights people from a thousand years ago never thought of. The adage "The sky is the limit" seems obsolete today because mankind had reached beyond the known limit. Every finish line is the starting line of yet another race.

As humans continue to soar, they express desire for more. They draw pictures of humans with bird-like wings, angels as they are called. Somewhat beheld like perfect, angels have spread in culture, set like some unreachable goal. As with all humans, they live in pursuit of their goal, not the goal itself. Envisioning oneself as a human capable of flight is indeed an uplifting habit a typical person does. Dreams of flight seem to be the anti-thesis of a nightmare.

But with all flight, one needs to land. One cannot fly across the skies forever. That is the only thing about flight most humans fear: landing. It's either you land or you crash down. The sinking feeling during flight in a dream can spell a nightmare. In the story of Daedalus, Icarus strayed too far from his father and went to the sun like a moth to the flame. In the end, the sun destroyed Icarus' wings, causing his death. But landing doesn't seem to exist in a human's point of view, since human flight had defeated the purpose of the finish line.

Soaring until we die - it seems like a miserable fate for us humans to have. It would be better to keep our feet on the ground, literally and figuratively. If ever we feel the need to fly, fly where you know you can land safely.

... Or crash on the ground headfirst.