Magic of the wind Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 31 2009 05:01 AM By Darla Horner Menking
Special to the Daily Herald

The wind was magic. It could never be captured or traced, and it brought to me a feeling of hope as it came and went on its own schedule.

As a child, the wind taught me to believe in what I couldn't see or explain. I didn't question it but felt the wind was personal and brought with it a message – just for me.

My mind searched for what it spoke, not in desperation but a sort of tranquil quest for something wonderful.

In the wind of my childhood, my mind could escape to just about anywhere. It brought possibilities, created dreams and gave peace to my soul.

Its calming effect was supernatural then, and I can still feel it today as an adult.

Even though I learned as a teenager what the wind actually was and how it was formed, and that it can be explained scientifically, those explanations didn't seem to do it justice.

Today, I still feel its amazing untamed power. In its presence, I still choose to close my eyes and listen carefully for some special insight it may bring.

Now, wind is my reminder that just like life and despite technology, it can never be 100 percent predicted and one can never truly know from which direction it might blow.

There's something so universal about the wind.

As much as I travel to different parts of the world, the wind still feels familiar to me, like there's only one wind that travels everywhere, carrying with it feelings of reassurance.

Yes, I have seen in my lifetime the wind's power and destruction, and the devastation it can subject on homes, businesses, nature and lives throughout the world.

It comes and goes as it pleases, sometimes in a fury, destroying anything and everything in its path, as if picking and choosing what it will take and what it will leave. 

To me, no amount of knowledge can ever fully explain the power and nature of the wind.

In my mind, it's still a mystery and I continue to marvel at its omnipotence.

How can something like the wind be so pleasurable and giving one minute and then turn itself into an entity that takes and destroys with its next breath?

I think I know enough to say that question can never be answered completely.

But I do believe that for me, wind will continue to be that child-like mystery that speaks to me, brings me hope, and gives me pleasure as it softly rustles through the palm fronds on my back porch.

Darla Menking is a plant enthusiast and landscape coach. She may be reached at darla.menking@yahoo.com.