Earth, Wind and Fire

The recently held 10th International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark Field gave me and my wife another excuse to head out of the city to enjoy our beautiful countryside. Because of the relatively warm climate in this country, hot air balloons can only fly very early in the morning or late in the afternoon when air temparatures are still relatively low. The timing couldn't be better as it gave us the opportunity to enjoy the idyllic sunrise and sunset - scenes that we often take for granted or miss altogether because of our daily mundane preoccupations.

And so there we were - watching each balloon get fired up little by little as the air within it began to rise. As the balloons rose, so did the sun, as it peered from behind the mountains that formed a perfect backdrop to the entire scene. You felt the cool (and fresh!) morning breeze blowing ever so gently. Until one by one, you could see the balloons float and sail towards the sun, flying where the winds would take them until they disappeared into tiny little dots.

Watching the balloons in their age-old simplicity - a wicker basket with a couple of passengers relying on the wind and the fire fueled by their little gas tanks - with no fancy electronics or gadgetry (save, perhaps, for some navigation device); one is reminded that it is truly in the simple and the basic that one can find some of life's greatest pleasures. And as I was told, since the balloons move with the wind, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed. What a peaceful feeling it must be: moving at the speed of the wind, yet experiencing calm and not getting ruffled by the air. Riding with the wind (and not against it), the flight is relaxing and breathtaking as one gets to enjoy the beauty of the mountains, the trees, the sun and the sky all around. No need for an inflight-movie or a depressing newspaper to pass your time. Just plain old nature - beautiful as God created and intended it to be.

The balloons would descend later on and you could see in the faces of its passengers a smile that could only come from experiencing a joy and a pleasure so simple and pure - riding the wind and basking in the beauty of nature.

Simple things. Simple joys. Simple life.