I feel like there is a lot of wind in my face lately.
I am walking with my eyes down on my feet, the sleet is pelting my forehead and whipping my hair all about (wait...that is exactly what it was like when I left my office on Tuesday! Winter has returned... grrrr....). There are puddles to navigate so my feet don't get wet, and it is taking all my effort just to keep pushing on.
This wind is making it hard to concentrate on the big picture because I have my head bowed so low. I don't feel like I can chance looking up and seeing all that might be blowing by me. Part of me just wants to find a nice solid tree to hunker down behind with branches that I can twine my arms around and hold on tight until this all passes.
But that is the thing. The winds may die down, and I may feel just a gentle breeze lifting me up, but there will never be a lack of current. And by not looking up and out I don't see where I am headed, and it might very well be the wrong direction.
When all the wind is threatening to overwhelm, when I have been blinded by the force and entwined in my own swirling nest of hair, it is hard to keep your eyes on the prize. My tendency is to turn away. And maybe that is exactly what I need to do.
What if... instead of fighting against the gale forces that are pushing me back, I turned into them to face a new direction?
What if... that new direction afforded me a better view, and a lighter step, and helped me to see new avenues?
What if... instead of cursing the winds that threaten to push me back, or worse - stop me in my tracks - I did a 180 and let that same wind lift me up and propel me forward?
You might be flying with the wind in your face, but if you turn and let it be the wind in your sails, you might even go farther than you ever thought possible.
While the wind literally was in my face as I left work this week, and my heart goes out to all those affected by the real winds from tornadoes all across this land (including 12 in one day all around my central Wisconsin area, but missing us completely), I am, of course, talking about a metaphorical wind.
- What 'wind' is in your face? What is holding you back, stopping you in your tracks? Is it giving you the motivation to push on through or are you lacking the strength to fight just to stay upright?
- What would happen if you saw things differently, turned the other direction, followed a different path? If you have been going down the same path for some time, have you stopped to look in another direction?
- What obstacles are in your way? How can you remove them? Or how can you use them?
- Do you have reservations about letting the wind lift you up so that you can fly as only you were meant to do?
Do tell!
Enjoy the day!
8 comments:
Great post and great Qs! Ive been thinking thinks differently! Ive been thinking of just doing Lampwork down the road. With the economy I just feel people arent buying alot of jewellery and all the relisting it all the time. I fig make life easier for yourself Janet! No more trying to keep up! Less worry. Let those who they may be take; keep the helm. But I will still buy your fabulous focals lol..
As you know, I find myself in this sort of situation right now and it is terribly frutrating. It's an interesting perspective that you might just turn around and go with the wind rather than fight it. Healthy even. My approach when I find myself up against the wind, so to speak, is to take stock and set a new course. I hope you find the answers to your 'what ifs' and the that the winds around you settle to gentle breeze.
That's a really interesting post. Right now, today, my personally very obvious answer is a great big abcess under my tooth, on a long holiday weekend when nothing is open. But in the great scheme of things that's nothing more than a one-off gust. I'm trying to ignore it and trying to be kind to myself and curling up and sleeping under the influence of ridiculously strong pain meds.
But in the long-term plan, my personal hurricanes are invariably caused by my own brain (a complex and undiagnosable mix of psychological (thought) and neurological (physical brain) faults). I find it difficult to let go and have fun when I "should" be making money and my personal self image doesn't always mesh with the way I *have* to be in order to stay sane. So while I think of myself as instrinsically a spontaneous fun and thrill seeker, to keep my brain on an even keel, I have to keep rigidly to a very planned-out-by-the-hour lifestyle.
Embracing that as something that worked on many levels for me was a big step. I hate the idea of enforced rules and regulations, even when they're self-imposed. But hey, it works - I've been reasonably productive, sane and most of all, consistantly happy for a good couple of years and it was by stopping the fighting between who I wanted to be and who I can function as. It's not neccessarily the 'me' I always saw myself as, but it is a 'me' I can live with. And I recognise that that desire for 'fun' time is also a need - and that fun does not have to be spontaneous. I write it into my schedule, very specifically, several times a week. I need to be creative - and active - to stay happy, but I've learned to incorporate that as something neccessary rather than a selfish whim.
Hi Erin,i hope to let the wind take me to a more positive direction in my life very soon, living with 30+yrs of negative energy and the feeling of worthlessness has taken it's toll, i am so excited at what my new future can be that it has put a spring in my step and a kick in my pants & i hope the wind takes me further that i ever imagined. As i watched the news the other night i was brought to tears watching what the tornados have done, but it was not only that which brought me to tears it was the generousity of mere strangers that had driven 100's of miles with truck loads of water,food paper products driving through devastated areas looking for people that needed anything just when you think the world can be such a dark place with war,economey,violence the kindness of strangers restores my faith in mankind. ttfn L:)
Oh Erin, such a provative post.
There you go again making me think. Dang Girl!
As a life coach, usually the only obstacles in ones path is themselves.
The wind breathes life into me every morning I go out to run. Wind speed, snow, sleet won't stop me. I don't want to miss a thing.
Honey, you are the wind beneath my wings.
P.S. Aqua Net works good in weather like that.
Yes this hits home with me too - I feel like I always have the wind in my face no matter where I turn but just keep walking any way.It is freezing here too! Will Spring ever come? I feel like I really could use the sunshine this year!!!
Have a Happy Happy Easter Erin!
'kites rise highest against the wind.' ~ winston churchill...
and often, we are the obstacle and need to get out of our own way...
You always give me so much to think about.
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