I admit I strongly dislike wind–the blowing, not the turning knob kind. It can ruin, or at least spoil, what is ordinarily pleasant, such as picnics, track meets, farmer’s markets, or simply walking in the park. It can be my excuse for never leaving the house and binging on TV. Wind also contributes to undesirable emotions such as low mood, sadness, or depression. Sitting in the house listening to the wind howl for hours or days is not a prescription for anything close to joy.
I view my opinion about wind as problematic—I live in Northeastern Colorado, where the wind blows—a lot. I can enjoy everything about my home state except the wind. Add wind to any weather, be it snow, rain, clouds, or sun, and I feel stuck and low.
The wind does have a purpose. It fuels wind towers and blows tumbleweeds out of my yard, but other than that, I have a hard time finding positive attributes for wind.
A priest once told me that wind was the Holy Spirit talking to us. I don’t know if that helped my attitude, but it gave me a different outlook on the force that leaves dust and destruction in its path. This week, the beast came to neighboring towns with hail, leaving hundreds of structures with broken windows, beat-up sidings, damaged roofs, and lost crops.
To me, wind is the one part of “Beautiful Colorado” that seems to express anger—often violent anger. It’s a good example of anger because it shows up, builds, and lasts longer than is purposeful or necessary. It, too, can cause irreversible damage.
I’m going to rack my brain to find and identify some valuable purposes for our unkind and uninvited wind:
Provides conversation at morning coffee
Helps us fly a kite
Moves a sailboat
Cools us on a hot day
Spreads seeds around
Strengthens a new plant
Moves feedlot and sugar beet processing stench away from us
It helps us more appreciate days of stillness
It motivates us to vacuum the house or sweep the patio when it stops
It makes us smarter—for example, buying HEAVY yard furniture
It makes us more safety conscious when we pack for a day at the lake or a bike ride.
It gives me a topic for this week’s column.
If we’re going to live here, we need to at least fake embracing the wind. Our mental health improves with our ability to make tolerable out of something unpleasant. The wind is one of those things.
Closing with a quote from Catherine the Great (1729-1796): “A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.”
As always, it’s up to us which one we choose.
Until the next time: Live while you live.
Jennifer Goble, Ph.D., LPC, is the author of “My Clients…My Teachers,” and the blogger and writer of Rural Women Stories: www.ruralwomenstories.com.
Powered by WPeMatico