“Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.” - G.K. Chesterson (1874-1936), Orthodoxy, 7, 1909

To fly, to flit about unhindered by gravity, is to be able to reach tall places easily, and to travel from place to place quickly. Thus, I imagine this quote to mean that the ability to take yourself lightly, or in other words the ability to laugh at yourself, is a necessary component in our ability to rapidly adjust our position. Someone who cannot laugh at himself is in a fragile state, unlikely to change with the times. Laughter is one way in which we can deal with our stress, so that instead of being crushed by our failures or responsibilities, we can instead look at them side-long to see the absurdities in them, or we can pass over out worries and cast them aside, treating them as if they were nothing, so that by that method of pretending, we can make them, if not nothing, at least less than they are. 

To fly, flit, flee - are these really so different from one another? Laughter can be an escape vehicle, but here we may also question whether we are running away with that vehicle forever, or if we are simply preparing to circle back around again and come at our problem from a different angle. Angels may be able to fly, but we rarely see them in our world here, at least not for very long or with much force. Have you ever met someone who seems like a guardian angel to you, someone who just happened to be at the right place, at the right time? We are, for the most part, happy to see them when we need them, but then we usually go, each to each, on our merry way. Sometimes we need to be an angel for ourselves, when we are down in the dumps and have to pick ourselves up again. So, we fly, and we bear ourselves up, to ourselves just as song is for us in dark times and lonely nights - but sooner or later again to the earth we settle, once again standing on firm and cold soil, mortal and bound. Our experiences, then, are temporary, but it is so often the memories of these flighty times that most help us to get through the day. Laugh all the time, and we call you i'll - Laugh never, ever, and you are ill without knowing. We need our shorts-lasting wings to be human. 

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