Lessons From the Wind

The windy season is once again upon us, ushering in change between two extreme seasons. She is here to remind us that everything is temporary, and things can change in an instant.

Clouds dancing in the wind, early spring.

The wind may usher in cold air in the morning, making it feel like winter is still here, while changing to make it feel closer to summer by the afternoon. Or she may bring rain to your doorstep, helping you to wash away the old before bringing in the new.

The wind will force you to look at what isn’t anchored in your world. She reminds you to be present and aware. She can reveal what isn’t working in your life and force you to simplify and remove all the clutter. If you don’t take the initiative and begin to move toward change, the wind will find a way to make you change. The wind loves new beginnings, and she asks you to learn to embrace them, even if you can’t bring yourself to love them.

The wind can change direction in an instant, reminding you that you too can change and that you don’t need to follow straight lines. You can free yourself from what binds you; it is a choice available to you every day. Change doesn’t have to be dramatic or monumental. It can be as simple as letting something shake loose, preparing to release it from your life.

The wind reminds us that unseen forces can shape our world, including our thoughts and emotions, sometimes fleeting and light, other times dark and bringing about storms. Feelings can perceive and initiate change before thoughts begin to shape it. Sometimes all they need are a few breaths of fresh air in our lungs to make their way into the world in the shape of words spoken or written.

What new change would you speak into the wind today?

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The wind asks you to be brave
while protecting yourself, 
to avoid being windswept or carried away.

The wind demands 
that you meet her with power, 
to be fully alive.

Choose your attire at your own risk.

Will you choose foolishly?
Or layer abundantly so you can’t feel her cold greeting?
Will you foolishly bare your skin to the wind’s icy caress,
 or let her find her way through thin layers?

Or will you let yourself be warm 
while walking the edge of a chill?
Will you let your body experience discomfort
So that you can be with the wind longer?
So that your soul remembers what it is to be alive?

Will you walk with the wind long enough
to wear her perfume of fresh air,
So that you smell of the season?
Like a wild thing born to walk in the wind,
Among the green, under the blue.

The wind invites you to dance with her
She won’t stay forever,
She has other places to be.
She reminds you to live in the moment
Fully.
Bravely.