Let the Wind Blow

Standing under a blue sky yesterday, watching two buzzards circle and dance above the woods, I couldn't believe the wind had stopped.  I don't remember being so battered by continuous winds, speeds up to 80 mph - storm Dudley, Eunice and now Franklin.  Where do they get these names from?   Yes, one day's respite from the wind with a river much faster and fuller, but luckily no trees down here.  

In the 1980's we sang a song about wind in our Osho music celebrations.  One of the many devotional songs with dancing.  This one went:

Let the wind blow / take it all easy /  Let the wind blow  /  we're still alive.........

Now was a chance to really experience this in our exposed house on the edge of the Preseli hills.  I hate strong wind. It's the nights I can't stand, the howling sounds, wooden house creaking, body feeling bombarded.  I get edgy and this time sleepless and jangled.  Still, I haven't got kids to educate at home or keep happy (the Welsh schools all closed on Friday) and we only had power outage for 6 hours.  So really nothing to complain about with our wood-burning stove, gas cooker and I don't mind no WIFI for a while.  So yes, we did take it easy. 

Stevie Wonder made my Saturday evening - live footage on BBC2 from the '70's and '80's.  He looks so easy, completely relaxed and joyous.  I love this genius songwriter, singer and performer - lyrics, groove, passion for justice too. I said 'Oh, you can see the joy in his eyes...' and then realize:  No! He's blind,wears sunglasses - I can't see his eyes.  The joy must just stream out from all over his body.    He must have come through strong winds too - being blind, having to rely on others so much.  Like Ray Charles, another of my favourite soul singers - both playing amazing piano and also blind. Yet so alive, that voice!

We also had an unexpected gift, an unintended consequence of the strong winds. Chris, my partner, has joined movement workshops for decades in the UK, Europe and also Java. He was inspired by Prapto, a Javanese 'embodied movement' practitioner who has worked with thousands of people around the world.  But a 50 mile drive along Welsh roads this Sunday to a workshop near Llandeilo with  60mph winds and heavy rain looked unlikely.

Meanwhile, I'd read this in my 'Small, Simple Way's' Ignation daybook for Sunday:

'Walk through the rooms of your house today, imagining that each room is a place in your heart. For instance, the kitchen is a place of work; the dining room or living room is a place where you welcome others; the bedroom is where your most personal desires and dreams live, and so on. Present each room to God, with a simple prayer.' 

So I had a hunch he'd not be going anywhere.  I read this to Chris, who'd decided himself not to travel. He took the essence of this message as he moved - sometimes still, sometimes half-dancing or rolling on a floor - through the rooms of our house.  I could hear him making whistling sounds too - I was curled up in front of the stove.  After an hour and a half  he shared his experience - how he connected so differently in relation to which room he was in, being receptive in a whole new way. 

Just before the first lockdown in 2020, I read 'The most radical thing you can do is stay home'.  This was prophetic for our approaching coronavirus reality. Gary Snyder, poet and bioregionalist, actually said this in the 1970's, underscoring a need to consume less that has now become even more urgent.  This time it was the winds making us stay home. But still aliveness can come through.  We don't need to consume violently or travel the world to get inspired. Let the winds blow, OK.

Marion Carlisle - aka: Marion Atmo             West Wales, UK