new column:

"The Wind of Change"

When I was a young child, I used to sit my head right next to the open car window as we drove along and feel the wind blow strong and hard across my face and through my hair. It was one of my favorite things to do. It always seemed to have a clean feeling: of strength, of simplicity, of calm. My mind would feel at ease, as the troubles of the day seemed to vanish in a rapid succession of simple blasts of cool air.

When not in a moving vehicle, I would often love a good windy day. As I became an adult, you can imagine how much I enjoyed finally visiting and now living in the Bay Area. The winds are robust and clean and constant here. To sit outside and feel the brisk ocean wind blow through my hair and swish past my arms is a casual pleasure in the midst of a normal workday. One can imagine how much joy I get simply walking along Van Ness Avenue at any time of day or night—the gusts blasting so hard that they nearly knock one down.

I was reminded of this on a recent spring afternoon while driving around Sonoma County in my CityCarShare, as I left the window down and the clean natural spring air flushed through and blasted my gelled hair out of its perfect alignment. What was it about the wind that made me feel so calm? Why did it ease my mind so?

I think that the flow of wind, similar the seduction of a good waterfall, is a natural occurrence that showcases the everyday evolution of life. This life force through its natural elements continues on and on regularly. We can feel it and see it and recognize it, or we may ignore it, but it is there for us. And just as in the Japanese gardening philosophy of zen landscapes and sand gardens, the simple forms of nature can calm us and bring us to peace while allowing for further contemplation on the larger schemes of life.

And while winds can change and move in differing directions, the point is that they still move. And we are part of the overall culture and vibrancy of life. As a favorite philosophy of mine states, "We cannot direct the wind; but we can adjust our sails," it is the importance of the movement itself, not in the basic desire to travel from Point A to Point B, that is our fundamental choice of life.

In politics, winds often change and carry with them realities that cannot be avoided. But if we appreciate the natural occurrence of the winds, adjust ourselves to the tenor of them, while continuing towards the goals we hold dear, we will have calmed our own souls as well. This is not to say that our choice is to follow the wind or let the wind pull us into directions where we wish not to go. This is to think more naturally and recognize that the wind is a factor in our cause. And we can utilize the natural forces of the wind to our advantage, not only to achieve our goals, but also to arrive with a greater sense of peace.

I still love to feel the simple push of a good strong cool wind on my face. It reminds me of my own presence in nature. When I put my face in the midst of a great gust of wind, it is not with a sense of intrusion or imposition, but instead with a proud recognition of its and my place in the larger scheme of life. We all share this space and time together wherever it may take us next. The wind's rush breathes life into us all.