Ground Effect

I heard someone talk about ground effect recently. I knew immediately what it was and I knew that it could be dangerous. Ground effect is the pull on an airplane when it is close to the ground.
Why is it dangerous?
Because, an airplane flies best when it has air under it's wings, and more is better. But close to the ground, gravity and a lack of lift conspire to bring the airplane down.
This is why take offs and landings are generally the most dangerous times to be in an airplane. (Not counting terrorists.)
As a flight attendant for Pan Am I sat through many take offs and landings, and obviously I survived them all. But, I always gave a sigh of relief when we were up and flying free or, at the end of the flight when the wheels touched down.

There is no way to fly without taking off, escaping ground effect and allowing lift to raise and carry the plane. You have to pull away from the earth and into the air.

So, here is what I thought about: Ground effect in our lives are the things that keep us from being our best selves, from moving up and doing what we were born to do. It is dangerous, it holds us down, and if we can't overcome it it keeps us from being lifted by the spirit which is always there around us, above us.

Wouldn't you much rather fly than crash back into the ground? It takes power to overcome ground effect. But we have power.
So rev your engines, give it your all and soar.