(Written Wednesday January 15 2020)
Coming home from a forest run. Fresh air. Dawn. Birds. River. Beautiful leaf-less trees. A delightful solo-reflection time.
Making a break at the bridge crossing the river.
I had headwind all along, running upstream.
It´s not the first time I have experienced headwind. But looking how the river flows, how the wind makes little waves on the surface – I know, once I start running again, I´ll have the wind in my back, running with the wind, where the river flows. What a boost and relief.
I wondered, or I could imagine, how right now a lot of people are feeling, who have had the wind in their back so far. Meaning: having established comfortable lives in line with mainstream culture, unquestioned. Yes, facing all of a sudden wind from a different direction might feel windy a bit. Tough. Unpleasant.
A great danger I see is if things just “turn around”. (And this counts for many things). I am happy for tailwind. I am not happy for anybody else to have headwind. Life is no competition. As in one of my favorite books (by Jostein Gaarder) it is put across: We are all already winners in being on this planet.
Yes, I am aware that quite some people currently feel that all of a sudden the wind has turned – and turned against them. It makes me feel sad and irritated when I hear that, for instance, my granny feels attacked by Greta Thunberg.
I don´t think the point is to keep it like that. A little storm to wake us up – fine. But then, the question is: In which direction to go, together?
I experience a gap between people, between generations, the one not understanding the other. Where is the point in letting this lead into an “against each other”? Deep inside, I believe, we want the same: A future on this planet.
Maybe, what feels like a lot of headwind for many right now can, ultimately, lead into a direction where we all perceive tailwind. It´s just a matter of re-orientation. It´s asking ourselves what truly matters to us, as a human society. And it´s a matter of how well we manage to encounter each other on respectful, authentic, empathetic grounds.
Work in progress, I´d say. I am on it. What about you?
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PS: What I have experienced as extremely powerful and helpful so far, in entering in dialogue with others, is Non-Violent Communication. Marshall Rosenberg does not present a tool – but supports the establishment of a culture of compassionate communication. Highly needed. And requiring practice. What are we waiting for?
Here a video I found quite empowering, reminding us of the power of language and communication: