Up I Went
I’m done with doing things just for the sake of saying I’ve done them. If I’m going to commit time, energy, and money to something, I’m going to make sure it’s something I truly want to do, something that I’ll truly enjoy experiencing. I’m done with going through the motions.
Tuesday before last I went up the 103 floors to the top of the Willis (Sears) Tower in Chicago... the world’s 2nd tallest building. It was a cloudy morning, likely to have no visibility. But at those heights, I knew I’d see sun, I’d see planes crisscrossing the skies high above the fog hovering over the lake. I knew, that if I waited patiently, sat peaceful in the corner of the glass room - within the crisp walling of modern architecture - willing to bide my time, willing to be in the company of my own mind, I would be rewarded with a glimmer of the city of the world below. I would get my bird’s eye view. I would be above the hustle and stress of the every day. Even if it was only for a moment, I knew that the clouds would part, and that I would be rewarded with a great sigh of relief. I was stubbornly optimistic that being up in the sky - with or without the advertised view - would satisfy my urge to rise above, to do something I had not done before, to be in the moment, for one moment, undistracted by phone or friend, duty, or appointment. I was certain I would ‘make a memory’ so-to-speak. A memory just for me.
I was tempted to invite someone to come up with me. But I did not want to risk someone else’s disappointment, impatience, or even just chatter. I was quite content to sit in the skies, to watch the cloudy roll by. Alone. I simply wanted that experience for myself. For my own pleasure.
And so up I went.
Yes, I took pictures; I did the ‘tourist’ parts of the experience by wandering the gift shop, posting on Instagram a photo of my feet out over the sky deck... but that was in addition, an extra detail, to the real experience that I had sought out — and ultimately succeeded in having.
And it was beautiful.
