Seagulls in the Wind

[Guest guest]

Have you ever watched the seagulls when the wind is coming in fast

and furious?

They have this way of adjusting perfectly to each new gust, subtly

compensating for shifts in the wind's intensity and direction.

Everything else is being blown all to hell, but you look up at a

seagull and it's just hovering there above you, perfectly still.

If you stand on the cliffs here looking out at the bay, you can see

gulls not more than twenty feet away from you, suspended over the

water. I swear they're showing off, because if I stand there long

enough I always get one gliding so close I can look it in the eye.

I call them " Jedi Gulls, " because they're doing this very Yoda-like

thing for our edification, and it's obvious the Force is with them.

I used to spend hours out on the cliffs, studying them.

The Jedi Gulls have taught me a lot about holding my own against the

storm of painful and frightening sensations that my body has become.

Sometimes the effort is successful, but there is a lot of turbulence

to contend with. You can quickly get exhausted, just trying to stay

still.

It's not enough to conserve energy, you have to approach it like a

martial artist, manipulating the strength of your opponent to

reinforce your own.

Not for nothing do we talk about " mental agility. " The mind is an

amazing acrobat, long accustomed to working without a net. Also a

skillful wrestler, adept at pinning down its opponent but quick to

escape being pinned down itself.

These bird-brained metaphors have helped me more than any fly-by-

night protocol.

The imagination has a rich pharmacopeia of its own, none of it

generic, and brews some of the most potent and dangerous potions

known to man.

At times, the mind that labors to protect us from suffering causes

us to suffer. It can be difficult to distinguish imagination's

poisons from its cures.

I trust what takes its inspiration from nature.

May the Jedi Gulls of Happiness keep you company on the cliffs,