Let Jet Lag Fuck You Up
That’s essentially the message of this wonderful, surprising little article from the Boston Globe, by writer James Parker. Is he a Buddhist? A yogi? He must be:
(Jet lag) reminds us not just that we have bodies, but that we are bodies. Flout the time zones and you will feel unusual. You may even feel depressed, as gravity reasserts its claim upon your person. But so what? Be the depression. Lay aside the melatonin. Sweet hamster, forgo that Viagra. Don’t, please, start rising like a monk in the predawn hours, fours days before your trip.
And this:
Because really, if you’re not lagged to a standstill, how can you tell that you’ve gone somewhere? This is, in a phrase I intend to copyright, “the wisdom of jet lag.”
Do yourself a favor and read the article – especially if you’re traveling anytime soon. It’s lovely, and a very quick read.
In William Gibson’s novel “Pattern Recognition,” he talks about the concept of “soul lag,” which he uses to define the feeling you get when you travel long distances of being not entirely yourself for a while. In Gibson’s description, this problem occurs because your soul can’t travel as fast as your body, so it takes a little while to catch up with you. You end up feeling like you’ve been slightly shifted outside of yourself, and it takes a few days to put yourself back together.
I get what Parker is going for here, but I’m not on the same page. This strikes me as the travel equivalent of self flagellation.
In life, the journey may be more important than the destination, but if I’m flying across the globe in a little metal box, the destination is significantly more important than the journey. I want to enjoy where I am while I’m there.
Loved reading this right after my long connection-filled travels to Mexico. I enjoy the idea of embracing the imbalance you feel during and after traveling.
Obviously this guy has never dealt with a fear of flying. I tried to get behind him. I really did, but in the end x hours of sheer terror between take off and landing are enough of a disorientation for me. Once that’s done I’ll settle for the more subtle confusion of trying to convert currency values.