Flying Lessons: Updraft II

The sky was full as I left my car and headed across the drive this morning. There were a dozen turkey vultures circling the canyon, two hawks were doing a call and response with each other, and a crowd of crows stood out stark against a background of deep blue. I do not know what drew them, but I was glad to be able to watch for a while. They were quite close. It was a windy morning, and although all of these birds are powerful, they were riding the currents, swept up and down, and sometimes back, by gusts of wind.

I have written in the past about being an updraft for others. The question I play with today is whether I can also be an updraft for myself? What I saw with the confluence of birds this morning is that there is no point in fighting the wind. It is better to ride the current. This is what hawk, vulture and crow were all doing so gracefully. They were not "pushing" and trying to defy nature. They responded to what was there.

I sometimes find that I fall into a very North American world view when it comes to ideas about making progress. It feels like I have been raised to believe that life should always be on an upward trajectory, and that I/we should be stronger, wiser and closer to our goals today than we were yesterday. I question this belief! What does it buy us, if we really look at it? For me, it seems that I too often evaluate each moment in terms of likes or dislikes, good or bad, trying to let in some moments and exclude others altogether. Isn't this a bit like fighting the wind?

What I am dabbling in these days is this: letting it all in, and not pushing anything away. If the driver in front of me is going painfully slow and I feel irritation . . . let it in. If the sight of a hawk hovering on an air current moves me to tears . . . let them flow. If my neck is stiff from sleeping at an awkward angle . . . feel it. If there is a smell of autumn in the air . . . breathe it in. If a worry plagues me . . . notice it. AND LET IT ALL MOVE THROUGH.

This is a flying lesson. I did not realize that when I began typing. Vulture, hawk, crow . . . they are my teachers, and today, this is what they teach: Do not separate yourself from the wind. You need it to fly. It is a partnership. Sometimes it lifts you up. Sometimes it drops you. But you can trust it. You can trust your wings. They know. Do not struggle against the wind. Be your own updraft. Remember who you are: a winged creature.