Yesterday the sky was big and wide and blue, dotted with puffy clouds. There was a wind blowing the dust up into the atmosphere. Nature's way of cleaning house I guess. I love days like that. Sort of reminds you how we're all at the mercy of the natural elements, no matter how many skyscrapers we build or fences we erect. Something can always just come along and blow it all away.

I've been in an earthquake, a hurricane, a dust storm "monsoon" and a tornado. Each one equally scary. Scary enough to make your feet curl, at least. It's a little unnerving really when you realize how little control we have over this planet, when you get right down to it. Humbling too.

That's why things like 9/11 or a plane crashing or a fire breaking out or 7.4 on the richter scale fascinate people so much; the illusion of control is completely stripped and we're reminded again of how small we really are. We try our best to surround ourselves with things that block out those thoughts, but they're always there, hiding somewhere. It's like a public consciousness that's left unconscious.

I look at a life. By all a accounts a small life. Basic. I see how hard it is to always make the things connect when you want them to. To carry the good things against the bad. To remember that you you you who you are is unique. Not because of god or nature or anything other than the simple fact that you are. Your fears, your hopes, your loves, they're all you, the you you are now and the you you will be. There are no wrong turns. Accidents happen. You pick yourself up, dust off your shoes, you try again. It's the beauty of life. Small or not.

I was reminded yesterday of how sometimes the things we long for in the past aren't here in the present because well, basically, the wrong things aren't supposed to last. You're not where you were last week, last month, last year because change is unstoppable and the things that give you joy are still around and the things that make you cry are as gone as a piece of dust in the sky. It's only our minds which give them solidness and weight. Probably the roughest and toughest thing a person can learn how to do is let go. Lord knows I can't half the time and I've got 30 years.. excuse me, 31 years of experience. But I'm learning.... jesus, I'm learning.

"In this world there's a whole lot of golden. In this world there's a whole lot of plain. In this world you've a soul for a compass and a heart for a pair of wings. There's a star on the far horizon, rising bright in azure sky. For the rest of the time that you're given... why walk when you can fly... high..."

Why indeed.

here's to each of us learning how to fly and not being afraid to fall when we finally let go.