Playing with the Wind

My daughter took her new umbrella outside to play - no rain, but no matter. The wind was her best playmate, as it buffeted her around. Giggling away, she was surprised by each gust. As I watched, she experimented with different ways to hold it, getting sent across the yard in one direction or another, until she decided to take cover low to the ground, and low and behold, the umbrella stayed still.

She shows her basic technique

Where we live near the mountains, the winds (sometimes called "Chinooks" after the Native American people of the Pacific Northwest) can blow fiercely and often. The native plants of this area have adapted to it - either low to the ground (like my daughter discovered), or thin and able to let the wind pass through without harm.

 

Today's Nature Lesson

I can let so many small things during my day get to me... Sometimes I find that by evening, I'm tense all over, particularly in the jaw and shoulders, as I tighten up and hold it all in. I've been holding strong against the storm of my day, I think, except that it's not really strength. I'm not being a rock; I'm more like a tree splitting apart. Better for me to breathe into what's happening - to literally take deep breaths - and allow for spaciousness, for acceptance or at least willingness for life to take a different turn than I expected. Maybe I can be like the grasses that let the winds blow through while they carry on, to be flexible while resilient.