The Humble Virtues of a Simple Private Jet


I have often thought that the question of how one ought to live is as perennial as the seasons, and as susceptible to overcomplication as the foliage of a tangled wood. To live deliberately, with purpose, requires discernment: a stripping away of the superfluous so that the essential may shine forth. And yet, in this age of noise and haste, we find ourselves burdened by the overornamentation of our means. I submit, dear reader, that even in the realm of private aviation—perhaps especially there—simplicity is the truest luxury.


It is not the extravagance of the flight, nor the ostentation of its trappings, that speaks to the nobility of human endeavor. A gilded fuselage or a chandelier within the cabin may dazzle the senses, but they do little to elevate the spirit. Far better to have a simple, unadorned jet: one that carries us swiftly, efficiently, and humbly to where we must go. The grandeur of the journey lies not in the seat coverings or the champagne served but in the soaring perspective afforded by altitude and freedom.


For what, after all, is the purpose of such flight if not to liberate oneself from the constraints of time and space, to compress distance and amplify opportunity? To burden such an experience with unnecessary luxuries is to chain the soul to the very fetters from which it seeks release. A simple jet—like a simple cabin in the woods—is sufficient for the thoughtful traveler who values substance over show.


I think often of the birds, those original masters of the air. They carry no gilded accoutrements, no velvet-lined perches, and yet they traverse the skies with elegance and grace. How much we might learn from their economy of motion, their focus on the essential! To travel simply is to travel as the sparrow does: unencumbered, purposeful, and free.


Indeed, the simplicity of one's private jet reflects the simplicity of one's aspirations. Why seek the applause of others when the true prize lies in the clarity of one's own thoughts, soaring unimpeded above the clouds? To own a jet that is merely practical, without being ostentatious, is to assert that one values action over appearance, intention over indulgence.


In reducing the unnecessary, we increase the meaningful. This principle, as true in the quiet of Walden Pond as in the rarified air above, calls us to consider not how much we can acquire, but how little we truly need. Let our jets, like our lives, be deliberate. Let them carry us not merely to new destinations but to a clearer understanding of what is vital and true.


For in the end, simplicity in all things—whether in a cabin by the lake or a cabin at 40,000 feet—is not the abandonment of beauty or comfort, but the embrace of a deeper, truer luxury: the freedom to live as we were meant to, unburdened and unbroken by the weight of excess. And as I descend from my flight and feel the earth beneath my feet again, I am reminded that even the loftiest heights mean little without the grounding force of a life well-lived and simply rendered.


(This writing is donated to the public domain.)


--
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
https://pairsmathgame.com
https://philshapirochatgptexplorations.blogspot.com/
https://bsky.app/profile/philshapiro.bsky.social

He/Him/His

"Wisdom begins with wonder." - Socrates
"Learning happens thru gentleness."
"We must reinvent a future free of blinders so that we can choose from real options."  David Suzuki

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