Air travel is the safest form of travel aside from walking; even

Hear the words of Sloane Crosley, who said: “Air travel is the safest form of travel aside from walking; even then, the chances of being hit by a public bus at 30,000 feet are remarkably slim. I also have no problem with confined spaces. Or heights. What I am afraid of is speed.” At first, these words appear laced with humor, almost a jest about the absurdity of fear. Yet beneath them lies a profound truth about human nature: that what unsettles us is not always the danger itself, but the swiftness with which life can move, the pace at which change arrives, and the loss of control we feel when the world rushes too quickly.

To reflect on air travel is to reflect on one of humanity’s greatest triumphs: that man, once bound to the earth, now rides among the clouds. The sages of old looked skyward and envied the eagle; today, mankind has surpassed even the bird, soaring higher than nature’s creatures ever could. And yet, as Crosley notes, this form of travel, though mighty and wondrous, is also astonishingly safe. The peril lies not in the machines, nor in the heights, but in the perception of speed—the feeling that we are being hurtled forward faster than our souls can comprehend.

Her admission—“What I am afraid of is speed”—reveals a timeless struggle. For speed is not only the measure of a plane or a car; it is the measure of life itself in an age of acceleration. We fear not the distance, but the haste. We are unsettled when events come upon us too quickly, when change races faster than our capacity to prepare. In this sense, Crosley’s words extend beyond the airplane to the human condition: it is not the journey itself that terrifies, but the velocity of transformation.

History gives us a mirror. When the first railways thundered across Europe, many believed that the speed of the trains—thirty miles an hour—would shatter the human body, that the soul itself could not keep pace with such movement. Panic arose not because of the tracks or the iron, but because mankind feared being carried faster than the ancient rhythms of walking and riding. And yet, those trains reshaped civilization, bringing nations closer, spreading knowledge and commerce, just as flight now binds continents in hours.

Still, the fear of speed persists. It is the fear of being unmoored, of having no control, of being carried by forces greater than ourselves. In truth, many of life’s challenges resemble this: the loss of a loved one, the sudden change of fortune, the rise and fall of empires. These arrive with the swiftness of a rushing wind, and our hearts tremble not at their inevitability, but at their pace. Thus, Crosley’s fear is a symbol of what humanity often feels in its deepest moments—uncertainty before the unstoppable momentum of life.

Yet within this fear lies opportunity. For speed, though daunting, is also the pulse of progress. Without it, discovery would crawl, change would stagnate, and journeys would stretch into lifetimes. The very velocity that frightens us is also the force that brings us closer to one another, that drives invention, that hurls us toward the future. To embrace speed, then, is to embrace growth, though it may be unsettling. It is to surrender to the rhythm of life’s unfolding, trusting that not all acceleration leads to destruction—some carries us into greater horizons.

The lesson is clear: fear not the swiftness of change, but prepare your heart to meet it with steadiness. Like the passenger in flight, learn to rest in the knowledge that though the plane moves at hundreds of miles an hour, its path is guided, its design proven, its journey secure. Practically, this means grounding yourself daily—in reflection, in gratitude, in relationships—so that when life accelerates, you do not lose balance. It means cultivating inner calm, so that the outer rush does not shake your soul.

Therefore, children of tomorrow, remember the wisdom in Sloane Crosley’s words: fear not the height, nor the distance, nor the confinement of the vessel. Fear only the unprepared heart, the one that trembles before the pace of life. For the world will move swiftly, whether you wish it or not. Let your spirit move at its own steady rhythm, and you will find peace in the midst of speed. In this way, you will not merely endure the journey—you will embrace it.