Breathing with the Winds of Change

This post is intended to be the first post on a series themed around the elements.  I got the idea to do this some time ago, and had decided then that the first one would be around the element of air and the wind, for no particular reason.

Only, now it seems that world events have sought up with me, big time… For it would seem that ‘breathing’ has become such a major factor in the events that are shaping the world right now. It began with forest forest, burning down the very lungs of the earth, then… corona, and a disease attacking our lungs, and hence, our ability to breathe. And now… the US are one fire with Black people demanding the right to breath freely in their own country.

The way to get through this, it would seem, is through the power of breath. And no, I do not intend to follow this up with a post about mindfulness or yoga. Instead, I would like to give the element that powers us a chance to speak, and hopefully, provide some inspiration in regaining our balance and finding our power within the current storm.

And so I reached out to speak to the Wind Spirits. Here’s what they had to say:

This is the wind

I wish to speak about change.

I am impermanence. I am the temperature of the current moment. My body only consists of moving air. Without movement, I would not be. I am the present turning towards the future. I can only walk but never turn back.

Your kind seems so afraid of change. You fight against it. You try to have everything remain as it always was, easily forgetting that always does not exist. Your perspective is too short to even comprehend its meaning. What stays the same for a few decades or even a few millennia is not permanent, it simply represents a lull in the storm, a moment where the attention of the world was turned elsewhere.

I am time. I am weak and insubstantial, yet at the same time I will grind mountains to dust. I will last by accepting that I am nothing, that what is can never remain.

I would like to send you an invitation. I can be an ally to those willing to leave the veil of their prejudices behind. I can help you find the way the wind rages within your soul, and the change it yearns for.

This is how to work with me. Spend a night outside. Do not seek shelter. Be at one with the world around you. Become aware of how you are but a single speck of dust within eternity.

Then… breathe. Become aware of the breath that powers your body. Become aware of both how vulnerable and how strong you are. As long as you can breathe, you are alive. Even when everything were to be taken from you, that small, insignificant action will be sufficient to fuel the power of your will.

Then think about all the things that scare you, the things that make you feel small and powerless. The things that make your throat constrict and make you gasp for air. Then… breathe. Slowly and deeply, breathe through the terror. Remind yourself that as long as you breathe, you are here, and you are not defeated. Even if you are out of strength, and feel like you have lost the battle, remember how every single breath you take can be a moment of victory.

Breath is power. Breath is life. As long as you can breathe, another day may still come when things are better, and when despair can be traded in for hope.

Now breathe out, and be aware of how a little bit of your spirit is within that breath. Now make a loud noise. Shout at the top of your longs. Remember that you are a being of beauty and of passion. And sit back again, thinking about the things that stir that passion. What fires are burning within, perhaps only smoldering, but only waiting for a breath of fresh air to be reignited.

Breathe, sing, shout. You have power. As long as you remember that, you will never be without hope.

And I am here with you, always. I am the wind of change. If you turn to me, your voice will be heard. Join your voice with those of others, and you can create a storm, breaking down barriers you thought could not be broken. But if you but have the power of the wind behind you, you can do everything.