and airports see it all the time.

"And airports
See it all the time
Where someone's last goodbye
Blends in with someone's sigh
Cause someone's coming home
In hand a single rose

And that's the way this wheel keeps working now
That's the way this wheel keeps working now"

I think that airports can be considered one of the meccas of juxaposition.. think about it. passengers are either coming or going. either leaving it all behind or coming back to what they know.

they are flying in to see their families during the cold holidays, after months of just telephone calls and emails, so excited to finally hug their loved ones, instead of saying their love words over the phone.

or they are leaving, about to go off on their own, about to deal with only phone calls and ichats for the next length of time. maybe its their first time being away, maybe its their hundredth. does it get easier? does the feeling that they feel when the plane taxis away from the gate, when people they love are waving goodbye at them and staying behind, does it get any easier with time and practice?

does the feeling of returning home, of the wide smiles that greet you at the baggage claim.. are those moments any less intense the more times they occur? when your family/friends meet you and grab your luggage for you, when they take the time to come to the airport just for you, so not a moment was wasted? does it become routine or does it make you warm inside each and every time?

landing obviously doesn't always equal going home. passengers could be landing in an unknown land, one that they have yet to navigate. i get a bit disoriented for the first bit of time in a new city, until i learn the ins and outs. airports, for all their continuity (hudson news, anyone?), still have their own uniqueness about them. airports might just be the first step of an unpredictable path for some people.

next time you find yourself in an airport, look around. look at the faces of sadness, the ones that are leaving people behind. and then look at the faces that are so happy to be back with the people they belong to. balance, in its finest form. the yings to the yangs.