Blowin’ in the Wind

Today I am grateful for a comfortable bed, warm blankets, and my husband Darcy beside me. I am also grateful for the wisdom others share with me.

On our recent weekend travels, I got up early Sunday morning and did some writing and then went for a run. The hotel we stayed at is very close to the school we were visiting, and also a roadside trail leading from campus back into the town. It was a breezy and chilly morning and it was still dark. The maroon and gold school colors were displayed, alternating, on a series of flags along the trail.

I didn't want to venture too far in the dark, and also there was a little rain on the way, so I ran back and forth over about a half-mile stretch, passing these flags blowing in the breeze.

Not surprisingly, as I ran, these words from Bob Dylan came into my head:

“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The answer is blowin’ in the wind...”

I wasn't only getting physical exercise on that run, I was also getting some spiritual exercise. Running and the bilateral left-right strides can be calming. Focusing on those strides and my current emotions, and staying out of my head, I encountered some promising clarity.

It was a meditative run as much as it was anything else. The answer was blowing in the wind, outside of me. The answer was in my heart and soul, not my head. And it wasn't so much an answer as much as it was assurance and faith.

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