Animate (thanks Rush)

Have you ever thought about wind? I mean, most of us probably just take wind for granted. So, I know that you're a little busy reading right now, but in a moment I want you to stop and think about wind. Think every thought that you can muster about it. I don't care how silly the thoughts are, just think.

Now, were any of your thoughts about wind positive? Or were all your thoughts about wind very negative? (i.e. it messes up hair; it's annoying; it makes me cold; it gets dust in my eyes, etc.) If you managed to think about wind in a positive fashion, I encourage you to let me know what they were via comment.

Alright, now that you've thought about wind for a while, I want to share with you a Eureka! moment that I had a while back with regards to wind. Wind is single-handedly (well...wind doesn't really have any hands...but you catch my drift) one of the most amazing things on this earth.

To explain this, let me start with a question. Have you ever watched "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" bit from Disney's Fantasia? Have you ever wished that, like Mickey, you could innervate ordinary items as he does with the mop and the bucket? How cool would it be if ordinary, inanimate objects could suddenly move about? Well, my friends, (unless we're enemies, in which case "OFF WITH HIS/HER HEAD!") this is precisely the effect that wind has on ordinary, inanimate objects.

I realized this one windy afternoon (and you thought this epiphany came on a calm, still day...crazy...) when I was driving down a street in my neighborhood. I happened to pass the house of some people who have a mentally handicapped child. (political correctness? I have no idea...please don't take offense if I'm wrong.) Josh was outside waving a flag in the wind.

When I saw him, I realized that I had seen him outside on every windy day for years. Some days he would bring a flag out of the house. On national holidays he would often play with the flags that the local scout troop put up in the neighborhood as a fundraiser. On other days, he would just sit and look at all the trees on the street, or perhaps the leaves in the road. He would spend hours just watching in amazement as things that had previously been lifeless suddenly take on a life of their own; bending, flapping, flying, and fluttering about. I had never noticed him before other than to make sure that I didn't hit him with my vehicle. But on this particular day, it hit me:

To him, wind was that power that almost everyone I know has secretly sought since childhood. Wind animates the inanimate.

I will forever be grateful for the wisdom of that boy.