Now is a time to quiet,
Ground,
Taking a deep breath in,
Exhaling,
Welcome to a hit of hope.
Has there ever been a phrase that everyone else seems to know but you only hear later?
The phrase twisting in the wind is one of those for me.
I've heard it several times in several different situations recently.
And even though I didn't know the saying,
I immediately felt familiar with the feeling.
Maybe you know the feeling as well.
It's when life makes you feel attached,
Knotted so tightly around something or someone that it feels as if you'll never be able to release and let go.
And at the same time,
Twisting in the wind evokes this sense of being blown about,
Flapping with no sense of control.
Inhale,
Exhale.
I picture a piece of frayed fabric knotted around a barbed wire fence in the middle of an endless prairie.
Not another living soul in sight,
Surrounded by sharp and piercing barbs,
There is no letting go.
And this poor piece of fabric is helpless against the whims of weather and wind.
Those forces completely out of its control.
Inhale,
Exhale.
I bet we can all bring to mind those things that have us twisting in the wind.
Sometimes mine have the power to turn me into that knotted,
Helpless thing.
And then the nights seem long,
The days seem harder,
And the storms feel especially strong.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Where are you twisting in the wind?
What knots are in your life keeping you attached to those things that hurt?
And then how are those attachments making you feel like a helpless object,
Blown about and flapping?
Seeing what the situation is,
Feeling the feelings,
And then breathing.
Sometimes breathing is all we can do when we find our self twisting in the wind.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Is breathing going to make all of your problems disappear?
Give you agency and a sense of power where you previously felt as if you had none?
Unlikely.
But breathing is what can get you grounded,
Centered,
Still.
And so then you might be able to look at the situation clearly.
Breathing is going to get you into a safe and intentional internal space where the din of the world has quieted.
It is from that grounding,
That indwelling that you can turn to your wisest self,
The one who always has your best interests in mind.
The one who can guide you to a first,
Next,
And healthy step.
The one that leads you to the greater good slowly,
Surely,
But kindly.
Inhale,
Exhale.
When you feel like you are twisting in the wind,
Live centered in your breath.
Live grounded because of your breath.
And then make the choices that can move you toward living light.
