Apostle Johnson Suleman reportedly sparked debate with the statement: “If you are up to 45 and you have not travelled by plane, something is wrong with you.”
The statement has generated strong reactions, and one of the questions it raises is simple: Should flying on an aeroplane really be used as a measure of a person's progress in life?
My response is: Is this not an animal talk?
Not because travelling by air is bad. Not because people should not aspire to see the world. And certainly not because there is anything wrong with celebrating personal achievements.
The problem is the suggestion that someone who has reached a particular age without boarding an aeroplane must have something wrong with them.
Life does not work that way.
A person's financial circumstances, family responsibilities, career choices, location and priorities are different. Someone may be 45 and have never travelled by plane, yet own a successful business, raise responsible children, support relatives, employ other people and contribute positively to society.
Another person may have travelled to 20 countries but still be struggling with debt, broken relationships or a lack of purpose.
So which one should we use to measure success?
A plane ticket?
A passport filled with stamps?
The number of countries someone has visited?
Or the quality of the life they are building?
Travelling can certainly broaden the mind. It can expose people to different cultures, technologies, opportunities and ways of thinking. For those who can afford it, travelling is a wonderful experience.
But it should remain an opportunity and personal aspiration—not a compulsory qualification for adulthood.
We should also be careful about statements that can make ordinary people feel inferior because they cannot afford certain lifestyles.
In today's social-media environment, people are constantly exposed to pictures of luxury holidays, private jets, expensive cars and exotic destinations. It can create the dangerous impression that everybody who is successful must live the same way.
That is simply not true.
Some people are quietly building businesses. Some are paying school fees for their children. Some are buying houses. Some are caring for elderly parents. Some are saving for retirement. Some are surviving difficult economic circumstances.
Their inability to board an aeroplane does not make them failures.
And perhaps the deeper lesson is this:
We should stop turning material experiences into universal measurements of human worth.
If you have never flown by 45 and you genuinely want to travel, work towards it. Save money, get your passport, plan your journey and go when you are ready.
But if you have never flown because life has taken you down another path, do not allow anyone to convince you that something is fundamentally wrong with you.
A person's worth is bigger than a boarding pass.
Success should be measured by character, responsibility, achievement, contribution, peace of mind and the positive impact we have on other people's lives—not simply by how many times we have heard an aeroplane announce, “Please fasten your seat belt.”
Travel if you can. Aspire if you want to. But never confuse a plane ticket with proof of human worth.
No comments:
Post a Comment