You Aren’t the Kite
You aren’t the kite, caregivers. You are the pilot.
We all meet life’s bruising winds in our own ways. We may often feel like we are blown about like a kite in a storm. But you’re not the kite: please remember this. A kite without a pilot isn’t really a kite: it’s just a piece of trash being kicked around wherever the wind wants to take it. YOU are the one who makes the kite fly. YOU are the pilot.
When you meet the challenges of angry loved ones, problematic family members, obnoxious friends, dwindling finances, and more, can you accept them as the wind? Can you accept that these are the conditions of the present moment and harness that “wind” to your best advantage? Because, and I hate to say it, those circumstances are often about as unchangeable as a monsoon.
If we can’t change the wind, we have to learn how to harness it. We learn how to ride it in order to go where we want. We stop fighting the forces of nature and become present with them in a constructive way. In the hands of a master kite pilot, even difficult winds can produce a beautiful performance.
Finally, consider: without a wind, you can’t fly a kite.
“If the wind is not blowing our kite the way we want, we cannot change it. We can only borrow its energy. When initiative and natural forces are combined, there is true harmony.”
-Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao
