How to 15 Hours

After spending the last few months enjoying the Australian summer, and avoiding the North American winter, it was time for me to pack up my life again into my carry-on suitcase to visit family & chase the sunshine.

The long haul flight from Australia to North America was 15 hours. 15 hours had never felt so long.

Although I’ve taken hundreds of flights in my lifetime already, these long haul flights are of a unique breed and bring up different experiences. They are uncomfortable with limited leg room, awkward sleeping positions, lackluster food, and ending with the inevitable dreaded back pain and jet lag. 

A key message from Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search For Meaning, feels especially helpful on a 15 hour flight. His observation is that when one has a purpose that they feel connected to, something to look forward to, then they can endure suboptimal conditions.

This was my experience exactly on this recent flight. 

I knew on the other end of this long flight was my three year old nephew, who I was missing dearly and had not gotten to see in four months. That purpose was so important to me and special that I didn’t mind the discomfort of sitting on a 15 hour flight with recirculated air, unappetizing food, poor sleep, at times feeling cold and at times feeling hot, not being able to stretch my legs, and more. 

While sitting there on board, I often imagined my nephew, playing with him, talking with him, tickling him and that was enough for me to forget about the discomforts my body was experiencing temporarily.

Connecting with this purpose of my trip changed how I physically & mentally prepared and how I showed up on the 15 hour flight.

First, I didn’t feel the need to rush. I noticed myself preparing for the longer trip by getting to the airport earlier and being more mentally calm. This meant that everything didn’t need to be timed to perfection, and I could enjoy the airport experience. 

In the past, I might have gotten easily annoyed by other travelers with less experience moving through airport security, I noticed myself having empathy for those around me. Going through security can be a stressful experience with the bright lights, people shouting at you seemingly random rules and the fact everyone around you seems equally confused and rushed.

Flying over the ocean meant no wifi, thankfully. I’ve reflected a lot recently about the value of disconnecting. Often if I suggest to people to go offline for even twelve hours, let alone twenty four hours, the push back is strong and immediate. I know that it is often the perceived expectations of others that prevent one from going offline. Yet, here I was, watching a plane full of a few hundred people who all went offline without a fuss for a 15 hour stretch. Proof that it is in fact possible. 

I also gave myself permission to relax. On a 15 hour flight, there is ample space to watch movies, read books, write and meditate. All activities I thoroughly enjoy and wish to make more space for in my daily life, which I am able to easily do on a long flight.

I also oddly enjoyed the airplane food. Where before I would complain about the food quality, now I feel grateful to have something to eat while thirty thousand feet in the sky. I took the time to appreciate the amount of people & things involved in bringing me this meal while I was flying in the sky, and it changed the experience.  The meal I was eating had to deal with transportation, air pressure, temperature changes, and conditions that do not resemble a fine dining restaurant, I can’t expect much. A lesson for life is that low expectations can be helpful to reduce disappointment. 

Whenever I am noticing discomfort or an unpleasant situation, asking myself why I am here in the first place, connecting with the underlying purpose, can be helpful in shifting my perspective and attaching to the big, versus the small.

And this is how I learned to 15 hours.