Second Wind
Second Wind
Churning Burning Yearning Learning
Raging Staging Gauging Sage-ing
A maelstrom of emotions surges through our veins as COVID, protests, demonstrations, wildfires, smoke and haze fill our days.
An election is upon us. Unpredictability surrounds us. Friends battle cancer, heart attacks and despair.
Recently a five year old child I adore had a complete temper meltdown. She was tired from traveling and having no routine—and suddenly she just lost it when her parents told her to turn off the TV. She kicked. She screamed. She struck out at those trying to console and control her as they carried her upstairs to her room.
I’d never seen her behave like that, but she is after all only five years old. Her yelling eventually subsided and finally we adults could have our socially distanced conversations.
Thirty minutes later she came bouncing down the stairs, a great big smile on her face. She jumped into her mother’s lap. “Good news, everybody!” she declared. “I’ve found my second wind!”
She then asked “Who wants to play pirates with me? I made everyone here an eye patch.” We all laughed and pitched in with appropriate pirate talk. Aaarrghhh! This child brought us a new game.
I’ve thought about that scene frequently over these last few days. Nearly every adult I know has had a major meltdown of some sort in the midst of all this, finding positive attitudes or political anger or tweeting in all caps no solution for the angst that seems to infiltrate our very beings.
One could say that many of our social structures, our long established ways of doing things, are having a meltdown of their own. They are simply exhausted, having run their course, and now require a major time out in order to establish a new mind set. A re-boot.
A sudden powering down in order to power up again, refreshed.
This is what I am praying for: that our nation, and the world at large, develops a new mindset, a re-booting of the heart after this.
And then we can say like the little girl—“Good news, everybody! We’ve found our second wind!
Aaarrrghhh!”
Now— let’s go out and remake the world.
Laurie Beth ~ Live. Breathe. Joy.
