A Feather on the Wind

From an early age, we’re often taught to approach life with fortitude, to harden ourselves against the challenges of our circumstances. We become like stones, dropping through our lived experience toward some distant target, moving fast and with purpose. On the surface, this might seem like a good way to create predictability in our lives. But in reality, it’s a terrible way to truly live.

When we move through life so quickly, fixated on a distant goal, we interact with so little of what’s around us. We miss the richness of our lives, rushing past moments that could touch us deeply, if only we allowed them to. Instead of hardening ourselves and plummeting through life like a stone, what if we practiced living like a feather?

Imagine yourself as a feather floating on the wind of your lived experience. You’re carried by the circumstances of life as they arise, fully engaged, fully open. Each moment touches you. Nothing is omitted. The boundary between yourself and the wind becomes blurred, and you’re moved naturally by what’s presenting itself.

In this way, life is no longer about pursuing some distant goal. It’s about being present, knowing what to do not through plans and projections, but by responding skillfully to what’s here. When we practice like this, our lives take on a boundless quality. We’re no longer rigid or fixed. Instead, we’re fluid, open, and responsive to the fullness of life.

Today, notice the moments when you find yourself hardening—when you feel the urge to push through or move past your lived experience. Instead of dropping through life like a stone, try floating like a feather. Open yourself to the ride, even if you don’t know where it’s leading from one moment to the next.

The truth is, you don’t know where life will take you anyway. Why not enjoy the wind as it carries you, fully engaged, fully alive?