beacon

last stand, originally uploaded by Justin Davis Davanzo.

i took this shot with my point and shoot a while back in Winter Park during a pretty good snow storm...I am not sure why, but this image is a strong one for me...maybe because today i am feeling tired and a bit lazy and i really don't want to go outside in the strong wind today...the wind...Boulder has a habit of getting super windy..i mean gust of wind that will blow you in the direction that they want to...you don't have a whole lot of choice, and I feel myself getting annoyed by it and not wanting to allow it to happen...oh damn..there it is again, a good analogy for our daily life. The winds of life. I know I am not the first one to talk about this, or write a song about it, or allude to it, so there. I think of all things in nature, i like wind the least...they say it makes people crazy..The Santa Ana winds back in California...i think they called them the Devil Winds...it was always a time for weird things....fires were stared, people acted strange...i feel that way here too....The wind does what it wants.

here are some things i love to do in life, but don't like doing in the wind.
Skiing
Riding my bike
Riding my motorcycle
Standing on the beach
Surfing
Walking
Trying to light a fire when you are stranded in the wilderness
Sailing on the ocean with a torn sail
Standing on the edge of a very tall mountain and the wind is at your back blowing you towards the edge.

ok..it sounds like i am complaining..and i am...
so here are some things that might be fun in the wind....

Flying a kite!
Windsurfing
Sailing a proper boat
Hang Gliding?
Sending a smoke signal
Riding a bike when the wind is behind you!
Having gas in a crowd...(the wind will confuse the situation)
Being a Tree...

So, the wind is a metaphor for things that mostly are not fun for me...
I don't windsurf, and i throw up at the thought of sailing, and Hang Gliding just seems, well, scary...i do enjoy gas...so you see....
The wind is a proper nuisance for me. What can i learn from this?

Ahhh....well, i think the wind is probably a good teacher for patience, strength, trust, and knowing when to say when...It is probably a control thing for me. If i am riding my bike in the wind, I can't do what I want all the time...There have been times on a motorcycle trip when the wind was so strong that I was almost blown off the road at 80 mph...not fun...so finding a way to relax into the wind and using the wind for our own is the key...like a falling leaf...or the trees ( and this one is the best analogy of all...Thanks to Tita) Look at the trees when it is windy and imagine that for them they probably love the wind...it gets them moving and dancing and swaying and cleans out there dead leaves...they sing in the wind and howl and lean in directions that they usually don't...so, for once, maybe I can go outside and enjoy the wind for their sake....after all...It is not really my place to complain anyway...they have been here alot longer than I.

Today I will face the wind with a smile and (kiddies, make sure to do this with some sort of eye protection) watch the trees dance.

Love and Understanding.