Gravity, Air, and Wind...

Some of the simplest things in life are truly majestic. In the material world an invisible force keeps us from floating away into the sky. This same force takes charge at preventing everything that is contained in our planet from escaping into the infinite vastness of space. Gravity, one of the least understood forces of the universe is the fundamental key to the existence of everything we are, and everything that has been formed since the beginning of time. At it's root, gravity is somehow intertwined with another one of those simple yet hardly understood concepts, time. To put it into simple terms, time and space are directly affected by the force of gravity in a way that neither could exist without the other.

Gravity is not the only invisible part of our existence that amazes me. Air, the most common compound in our planet, is constantly changing it's composition to supply us with much more than we can ever put into words. People, animals, plants, and so many of the chemical reactions needed to sustain us, feed themselves from the air contained inside the atmosphere of our beautiful blue marble called Earth. Again, very little would be alive if it were not for this precious commodity.

Just when you think that nothing could be improved in a world containing the above, then a dance between it all finds a way to amaze us even more with their combination and the creation of wind. This invisible part of nature provides us with so much more than just a magical way to fly a kite. Without it most of our world would be stagnant and still, keeping us from the wondrous effects of it's reach. The exact same wind that moves seeds to extend nature's ability to grow wilderness around the globe is the one that carries the oxygen we breath, the lift required for birds to fly, and even sound waves to our ears. Amazing, isn't it? Even in a space in which the air has calmed itself enough to prevent a single blade of grass from moving, all one has to do is move in order to create that majestic sensation of wind touching our bodies.

If wind had the ability to process memories as we do, what do you think it would have to say about it's experience of surrounding us throughout our planet? As far as we can tell it has been here since the beginning of Earths existence. Wind has been a constant in our evolutionary progress, touching it all at one time or another. Would it then tell us how far we have come or how much we have grown? Would it reveal all of the secrets that have been locked up in time when there was nobody to record our history or anyone to witness all that has happened throughout time? What would it say with regards to the final breath that our ancestors took when their own lives came to an end?

It is said by some who profess to understand these things that our universe is just one of many in which each is just a little different than the other based on the choices each one of us makes in our lives. Here you might of decided to take the chance of extending your hands to a complete stranger which eventually led to a romance and life with children. Yet in another one of those multiple universes your timing never coincided for you to meet that person, which took you on a completely different path in which you both never met. As incredible as all of that apparent fantasy of multiple universes might seem, chances are that because of the nature of how physics works it all might be true. However, unless we are able to unlock the current door to this mystery, the chances are slim that we will know the answer to these questions.

I know that this is one of those posts that you might be wondering what the hell I am trying to share with you, so I will offer a bit of light prior to closing the door behind me. Even the simplest things in life have fundamental mysteries that are too complicated for the average human being to wrap their minds around it. This does not make them less real, just as the wind in your face is hard to explain or describe, yet you can feel it, hence you know it is real. Nothing in life should be assumed to be just what it seems, much less our ability to affect or influence the world around us.

As I walked over today to pick up some of that Chinese food that I so much enjoy during my lunch break, I reached the end of the line at the exact same moment that someone else did too. We both laughed at the instantaneous dilemma that came about with respect to who should go first, and in my typical friendly mode I offered the 30 second lead to eventually exit the restaurant to the interesting accent that was revealed in my encounter. Guatemalan special education teacher...married to a Cuban gentleman that works for the state of California...he's being affected by three days of the furlough a month...they are both heading to Florida this weekend to attend a friends wedding...they have a daughter that just graduated and also just began her career as a high school teacher...after so many years of marriage she has more of a Cuban accent than that of her own heritage...and so much more. All of this in a conversation which was probably less than five minutes long. Life has a way of making things happen as long as we are open to allowing life to do it's job. Meeting new people is like letting the mystery of wind graze your hair. The effect is invisible and yet it somehow touches us even if we are not intending for it to happen at that exact moment. Friendship is more than exchanging pleasantries and superficial information, but there are very little chances of us making new friends if we live in a vacuum where not even sound travels because of the absence of air. I believe that in order to make the most out of the simple things that surround us we need to be open to what life's wind brings into our paths. Pay attention to the little things that are touching you on a daily basis and let them blow whatever it is you need to be happy your way.

Dad