Visual Journal Prompt: The Flight Path

Image by Alexander Mils via Unsplash+

There is something about flying that makes me reflective. It is not the takeoff or landing, but that quiet stretch in the middle, suspended between places. Above the clouds, the world feels smaller, more open, and full of possibility. That view often mirrors the tension I experience in life: the space between wanting and having, or between hope and fulfillment.

Yet when I’m in the air, something shifts. The longing doesn’t disappear, but it softens. I’m reminded I’m still moving, still being carried even when I’m not in control.

This visual journal practice grew out of that realization. It invites you to draw a simple flight path with one side marked “wanting” and the other “having,” then add a dot where you feel you are on this path, and then sit with the space in between. The middle isn’t empty. It is more than waiting or wandering and is a sacred part of the journey where we can name where we are without rushing to arrive.

If you’ve found yourself here, whether once or often, I invite you to try the journal practice below.

The Flight Path

Draw a curved line across a piece of paper. It can arch like a plane’s gentle ascent. On one end, write “wanting,” and on the other, write “having.” Place a small dot where you feel you are right now along this path. There’s no wrong spot, and the dot is not a destination.

Once you’ve drawn this line, reflect on the journal prompts below. Choose 1-3 from the list below that feel right and reflect.

• What emotions live here?

• What do I desire from the “wanting” side?

• What fears or beliefs do I hold about “having”?

• What keeps me in the middle?

• What would it mean to honor this place, not just move past it?

A reminder:

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habbakuk 2:3