"I can fly higher than an eagle for you are the wind beneath my wings".
Everyone, or perhaps not everyone, has someone or something that is, or fuels, the wind beneath their wings. This Wind takes many forms. For some it's their religious beliefs. God, Angels, a particular Saint. But I'm putting that aside to focus on the material side of this existence we are in.
We all are familiar with those stories of how 'someone' came into their life just at the right moment to soar them to heights they never knew they could reach. A relative outside of the family core; a spouse, a teacher; a good friend; a lover; and the list goes on.
I also believe it can be a 'something'. A constant 'something'. Listening to favorite music can make your soul soar; walking in nature; a well loved hobby; and the list goes on.
The important thing is not what fuels that Wind, but that. . . whatever or whomever it is. . . it needs to be there. . . to soar.
A favorite clip of mine in the movie Castaway starring Tom Hanks happens at the end when he is sitting on the floor in a motel room talking to a friend telling him about his marooned saga. He built a raft, but the swells were always too high to maneuver over them. Then he said, "But one day the winds changed", the swells were lowered and that was the day he was able to go over them and off to freedom from the Island he was trapped on.
The Winds changed. . . and he soared to freedom.
Let me go off track a bit and say a word about the element Wind. When I was up at The Clearing in Door County, every morning I'd sit at a rocky spot by the cliff and observe the movements of the water. I began to notice its behavior was different almost every morning. One day the waves and ripples came from the north; the next day or two they came from the south. Sometimes they would gently lick the base of the cliff with soothing sounds; another they would crash against the stones with fury. And it made me think; the Wind seems to rule the world. It brings gentle breezes, storms, carves out rock over eons, swoops in clouds; the list goes on. And it helps the birds soar and glide like defying gravity.
But just as the wind comes, so it goes. Quiet, still, not a leaf moves on the tree. So can it seem when the wind beneath our wings ceases to be due to them leaving your life . . . for whatever reason. When they are gone, we feel stagnant, stuck, grounded, and waiting. Like the ships of old in mid sea floating aimlessly and waiting for that wind to begin so they can move toward their destination. That lull in windless water is called Doldrums by the National Ocean Service. So it translates well to when someone says they're in the doldrums. . . a period of inactivity and a state of apathy.
So where am I going with this? Can we be our 'own wind'? I don't know. It usually doesn't seem to work that way. Seeds need wind to grow elsewhere. It's a gift when that Wind comes into your life. Think back. . . reflect. . . ponder. . . who or what is it? Sometimes we are unaware, until the wind ceases to be.
