The Wind at Your Back

After complaining about the fog, some weather god heard me and today was sunny by noon! So I hopped on my bike, something that I’ve been happily able to do every day for two weeks now, and took off heading west through Golden Gate Park. And though I was happy it was sunny, there was a fierce wind coming straight at me. “Well, better to exercise my muscles,” I thought, “and on the way home, the wind will be at my back. It will all even out.”

Scientifically speaking, the wind must have been at my back pedaling home. But the truth is that I couldn’t feel it. I could certainly feel it when I rode into the wind, but it was more of an invisible presence when it was behind me.

And following my mind’s habitual contours, I thought: “Well, isn’t that just the way it is? When people are in your face and life seems to be lining up against you and pushing back and making it hard for you to move forward, there’s no way to ignore it. And though it’s good to remember that the spiritual muscles and determination are being heartily exercised when the way is blocked or the wall rises high or the forces seem to amass against you, it’s not that much fun.

But when the opposite happens and the invisible hands are supported you or beckoning you forward or cheering you on, we often don’t notice it. It’s more subtle, more invisible, more needing of paying a different kind of attention. But there nonetheless."

So ask yourself when you wake up tomorrow, “Which direction is the wind blowing today?” And either answer is worthy of thanks.