There’s something I love about the power of machines. I love driving cars, operating machinery, and I even have almost a hundred hours logged flying small planes. Machines and vehicles are like cheat codes that let us do things faster and better then we could do on our own.
Without an airplane most human flight would simply be straight down. Without boats one’s water travelling would be limited to the distance one could swim. Tractors make short work of jobs that would take ages if done by hand.
There is something beautiful about a man having a machine. Almost like there can be a relationship between them. Some people will and have disagreed with me, but we all have a unique experience in life so that’s fine.
Whenever I have owned a car or motorcycle or even a bicycle, it’s always felt like more of a friend than just a bunch of inanimate material formed into something useful. When I drive my car, to me it is a relationship. I am capable of wrecking the car if I do something wrong, so it trusts that I will take care of it. Conversely something out of my control could happen at any moment leaving me helpless, so in turn I trust that the car will hold onto its end of the deal.
I maintain the car in exchange for a more reliable ride. The car gives me a place to go when I need some alone time to collect my thoughts.
I will say that this analogy does fall apart when we reach the part where cars are bought and sold. I’m not sure what to say about that.
Regardless, there’s something I still love about the power of machines.