Watching the Wind

Today I spent some time watching the wind.  Of course, no one can really watch the wind.  You can feel it.  You can hear it.  But, there is not watching it.  The only watching to be done is the way the things around us acknowledge its presence.  Such was the case today as I watched trees being captured by this unseen presence which was powerfully sweeping through them from root to soaring branches.  For a moment all my attentive energy was captured as surely as every branch was captured by this powerfully blowing wind. 

 

As I watched and thought about what was before me, I was reminded of the way the wind prunes the tree.  Decaying and dead limbs are no match for the wind and soon break and begin their journey to the ground where they would, if left alone, become part of the natural compost which nurtures the tree.  And, of course, the wind is life giving.  The pecan trees which grow around here depend on the wind to pollinate so that another crop of pecans are produced.  

 

As I watched the tree moving from top to bottom in response to the presence of the wind, I wanted to ask a tree if it gave itself willingly to the wind, or did it push against it trying to stand erect and tall as it always seems to do.  I wanted to ask if the movement of the branches spoke of abandonment on the part of the tree, or a moment of being completely overwhelmed by the power of the wind.  I wondered and even dared to ask.  Perhaps, it was not really a question for the tree, but a question for my heart.