The wind’s quiet song.

I rode my bike today as I often do, three and a half miles down the flat thoroughfare that splits the island of Perdido Key.
I love to ride and when I do, I spend the time mapping out my day and searching for inspiration.

The wind fascinates me.
Sometimes, I catch a tailwind and glide along with no effort, like the local seagulls that hang in the air and travel suspended for miles.
In the winter, I wrestle with a crosswind that catches me in gusts and causes the bike to sway precariously.

Most days, I buck a strong afternoon breeze all the way home, sometimes 20 or 30 miles an hour.
The wind puts up as much resistance as climbing a steep mountain road.
On the rare still day that finds the wind at rest, I feel the sweat gather in pockets under my helmet and trickle down my neck in tiny rivulets.

I ride, think and ponder.
Cars and trucks pass by as I hug the far right side of the road’s shoulder, windows up, air conditioners blaring, immune from any contact with the wind.
They travel back and forth from work, to the grocery store, the bank, the cleaners, an endless task list.

They don’t feel the wind.
While they may know intellectually that it’s there, they can’t sense the lulls and the gusts.
Isolated in mechanical cocoons, we settle into mundane routines that repeat themselves and atrophy our life muscles, the ones that need stimulus and resistance in order to grow, the only ones that will ever lead us to our dreams.

I never worry about the strength of the wind.
I spend much time outdoors, in the world, get used to all kinds of weather, build the muscles that propel the bike and the confidence that comes from making the ride day after day.

Once in a while, Florida graces me with an unexpected shower.
I arrive home dripping wet and laughing.
How seriously can you take yourself when you look like a drowned rat?
The slick pavement helps sharpen my skills, trains me to pay attention to pebbles and grooves in the road, the little details that if unattended derail us all.

Get out of your cocoon and go find the wind.
It will sing to you and strengthen you as you face it.
Some days it may even slap you around a little.

As you learn to bob and weave, ebb and flow with the gusts, the wind’s song will push you to dream, force you to ask yourself:
“What if I could…?”
If you can’t feel the wind, you can’t adopt to its changes.

No airplane ever flew without the resistance of the wind.
No eagle ever soared.
No dream ever came true without its share of storminess.

As seven-time winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong recently said:
“There’s a difference between just going and tearing the wind in half.”

Go ahead.
Take a chance on yourself.
It’s time to ride.
It’s time to tear the wind in half.

As you pedal, listen for a song.

Success Quotes

Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms, you would not see the beauty of their carvings.
-Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

If there’s no wind, row.
-Jim Rohn

Key Points

I, for one, choose not to participate in the alleged recession. I encourage you to do the same.
So how do we implement that choice? The same action taken in the past is not likely to yield the same result in the present. Therefore, different action will be needed. While this may seem to some like a BGO (Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious), most of us need to make the mental shift to prepare ourselves to act otherwise than before.
As we sow our crops, be prepared to work a little harder for a lesser immediate result. Sow more now in order to reap more later. Get mentally ready to nurture and feed your crop more frequently and to pull out the weeds that will disguise themselves as malaise and general negativity on a continuous basis. There will be plenty of naysayers waiting for someone else to fix “the problem.” Be part of the solution, through your own extra effort and refusal to buy into the collective blame game.
Here’s the payoff:
Firstly, you will grow more through the challenge.
Secondly, when the crop comes to harvest, it will be your best ever, with deep roots that will last and spread far and wide.
Lastly, you will find yourself better equipped than ever to craft your future, on a rock solid foundation, rather than starting from scratch which will be the path of far too many.
Let the wind blow. Feel it in your hair. Bend yet never break. Keep trudging forward. Enjoy the journey and you will more deeply appreciate all that you will undoubtedly receive.
Oh—and listen, if you can, for the quiet songs…

On a personal note…may the New Year bless you with much prosperity and abundance…