Thought Picnic: Phantoms, realities, or truths

Hitting turbulence and getting bruised

Presented with a situation, a study of your reaction may determine so many things and the eventual outcomes. What the five senses perceive will suggest our grounded and lifelong taught appreciation of our reality.

Yet, that reality might not be the truth, because everything we need to know and understand about the situation may not have been fully reconciled. We battle, in an instant with current information that sends our thoughts racing haywire, like hitting severe turbulence without being strapped in your seat.

How can we have our seat belts of life fastened at all times so that regardless of the turbulences we encounter in our varied journeys, we are unperturbed and unbothered, but steadfast and sure that a momentary or extended unsettling experience will not be definitive of our report?

Reining in turbulent thoughts

It is quite a saving grace that we are the only witnesses to the things that go on in our heads. The questions, even the equations, along with the evaluations, and absurd calculations could render you impotent. [BibleHub: Matthew 6:31]

We can choose to be stricken with fear and submit to the turmoil that surrounds us in helplessness and torment or be strengthened with faith that what we perceive is temporal because we are grounded by God's own perspective of the situation revealed to us. [BibleHub: 1 John 4:18, 2 Corinthians 4:18]

We are too used to close shaves, daring escapes, and heaving that sigh of relief, as objects of fate and occasional good fortune rather than as believing expositors of calling our world into being. [BibleHub: Ephesians 2:12, Hebrews 11:3]

I sometimes wonder if I have ever truly believed for the things I have desired. My instant reaction, like I had before I wrote this blog and later realised was a phantom because the process of reconciliation of accounts had not been completed would suggest otherwise. [BibleHub: Mark 11:24]

From the turbulent to the triumphant

Learning to recalibrate my frame of reference through the renewing of my mind is sometimes the hardest personal pursuit as it involves unlearning practice, tradition, credo, culture, habit, and things once held true. It is a process of transformation that leads to a place of peace in the spirit, rest in the mind, and health in the body. [BibleHub: Romans 12:2]

I intend to win at this and win triumphantly, it is a matter of life and death, let God be true and every man, no matter the news, verdict, or opinions they bring, be a liar. [BibleHub: 2 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 3:4]

Pissing from a great height

A turbulent bladder

And so, I felt the sudden urge to use the toilet and got up just as the air steward was walking up the aisle towards me, she was insistent I sit down, and I told her I had to go the toilet. She disapprovingly asked if it was urgent and without hesitation gave me a lecture on turbulence and the concern I should have for my safety.

I was between two minds of either telling her I had flown to South Africa 5 times last year or I had been flying since the age of 4 and I am now 54. Why bother? I sat down, crossed my legs and fingers hoping not to wet myself.

Checking on the piping

I appreciate she flies that route and probably has the training to handle severe turbulence, she was not tethered to anything and the aisles do not have railings. My being of a certain age was brought into stark reality by the Uber driver that took me to the airport.

His father had an obstruction in his urinary tract that resulted in him having a urostomy, the minor detail of him being 55 that I will celebrate in 10 days. He advised I should be seeing a urologist if I didn’t already have someone professional poking around there.

Without making too much of a thing about it, I would have hated to have to tell unnecessarily personal stories about a condition that requires an urgent dash to the loo. I suppose my shaving conceals that evidence of highlights on my beard acquired naturally, but let's not labour the point. I soon got to ease myself, a Nigerian colloquialism with emphasis on ease.

Awkward nature calls

When I got up the second time, I had the privilege of having the door to the lavatory opened for me without any discussion as to why, when, or what. Well into the morning before we landed, I needed another visit, and this time, all the toilets were occupied.

We had to queue up and one of the toilets seemed to be in use for long, an air steward opined that it might be a lady freshening up, I thought I saw a gentleman go in, but you never can tell nowadays, who is who. I declined an opinion with you never know.

I literally ran into the next available toilet, I wasn’t as pressed, but it was good humour as everyone laughed and when I was done, I was quite at ease, took my seat and wondered about pissing from a great height of 10 kilometres.