The winds of nature — going with the flow

We were driving across western Kansas on the way to visit our daughter in Colorado. The wind was blowing out of the south around 35 mph with significant gusts that were playing havoc with the big trucks on the road. Suddenly, while hanging on to the steering wheel to make sure we weren’t blown off the road, I spied a large hawk on the side of the road, probably looking for a field mouse. It was flapping its wings trying to fly directly into the wind, but it was going nowhere. It was just hovering there, flying the best it could in the wind, and being held in stasis by the winds of nature, its environment.

I had seen something like this before when I was traveling with a friend in his small aircraft. In this case, the wind was blowing much harder and, when we decided to take off, we only had to barely move forward before we were airborne. We both laughed, acknowledging that in the midst of the strong winds around us, all we had to do was to accept our situation and to go with the flow (or, in the case, against the flow).

I mention the above stories to point out that, while the hawk with all of its ability to negotiate the wind was going nowhere, my friend and I in the airplane simply went with what was given to us and took off easily. It appears to me that life is a lot like these experiences.

So many times those in power seem powerless to move while others lacking power but appreciating their environment (and the freedom it presents) easily move forward with grateful hearts. Our country today is arguably the most fragmented that any of us have seen during our lifetimes. Consider the following situations:

Every two or four years, we elect people to leadership hoping to balance the power structure so that we may have an effective government but, lately, those efforts have proved to be in vain. The two major government parties today are willing to do almost anything to maintain the power invested in them. From the perspective of normal citizens, it appears either party is willing to do anything to prevent the other party from claiming a victory. And so, like the hawk in the story above, they sit there flapping their wings with power but going nowhere. Wouldn’t it be great for them to work together for the good of the people they were elected to serve? Just how hard would it be to compromise on the major issues in government today?

Power corrupts even the best of people. We have seen it happen locally, in our states and in Congress. Currently, it has been focused upon the sexual miscues by people all over the country, not just in government officials. People in the sports world, the law enforcement community, the entertainment society, the military and even in the churches are misbehaving. They have not treated one another with respect and dignity. It used to focus on racial discrimination, but today it goes much further than that. Are Chinese, Mexicans, Arabs, Hindus and almost anyone speaking a language different from English substandard people? Are women inferior to men? Are young people smarter than older adults? Can one’s success in life really be predicated upon his or her sexual orientation? And, are the wealthy people in the world truly ordained to rule over the less fortunate?

When Jesus went up on the mountain to teach his disciples the beatitudes, he proclaimed to them: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Jesus didn’t go into what the destiny might be for those who were not peacemakers, but we may speculate. It behooves all of us to carefully explore who we are and what our role in life really is, and what we can do to make our country “really great.” As exemplified by some the greatest people who have lived on earth, success is not obtained by our power over others, but by the ways we have served those around us.

Robert Box is the former chaplain for the Bella Vista Police Department and is currently the Fire Department chaplain. Opinions expressed are those of the author.