Be Like Me — A Palm Tree

We had wind speeds of 32 mph in California last night. The wind gusts were clocked at 45 mph. If anyone is wondering: “wind speed” is determined by a sustained wind speed (measured in knots) over one hour. And “wind gusts” are defined as a ‘quick and sudden increase in the speed of the wind.’

I got a decent night’s sleep, despite the wind’s howls waking me up intermittently. But when I got up this morning, you guessed it; the wind was blowing around in my mind. It blew me away that something so light and free-flowing could cause chaos and destruction with one quick gust.

There is nothing in the world more powerful than the five elements of nature — air (in my humble opinion) being the core of what makes the other four elements more catastrophic. What is a wildfire without a strong gust of wind to spread it? What are hurricanes, typhoons, or tornadoes without the wind powering its devastating velocity?

Deep, right?

My sleepy but profound thoughts about the wind continued through my savored sips of morning coffee. As I sat next to my daughter on the couch, I looked outside and marveled at how calm the two palm trees were in our backyard.

At first glance, palm trees seem thin and frail — unsteady and breakable. But, in reality, they are one of the most resilient trees to grace this beautiful earth because they bend and don’t break; they go with the flow, literally.

At first gaze, the Universe violently thrashes palm trees around like bits of green and brown confetti. But if we stop to observe them over our morning coffee, we see them adjust accordingly with every gust of “wind” the world sends their way.

“I want to be more like them,” I pondered.

Thank you for reading. You are loved!