Dear Pogue,

Yesterday I did something I haven’t done in long, long time. I took a kite and flew it. More precisely, I went to the beach and flew my kite. The very best of days!

The Classical Chinese described kite flying as “airing the soul” and there may be something in that. Uncomplicated yet so totally involving. You just can’t let go. Well not if you expect to see your kite any time soon! It’s a pastime with so few requirements. You start with strings held tight and then must be continually involved in the experience, but just standing there. The pulling and jostling of the wind. The constantly changing backdrop of the clouds passing by. The moments the sun breaks through. I was locked in the moment. Was this mindfulness?

Bound to the spot I experienced all that was about. The waves breaking on the beach, the salty tang of the air, the unseen wind to which I now felt connected. The colours of the kite in the cloudy sky. The moment was so full that my cup could have run over and all I did was stand. My kite had drawn me deeper into the experience than I would have expected to go. How rich I felt. Was I connecting with the so called inner child? A time when all the stuff that now crowds life didn’t exist? When life was so simple and full? Maybe.

And there it was. It had taken a piece of cloth on a string to enable me to see the wealth of my surroundings and to bring to the fore an awareness that had long laid dormant. When did I last just stand and deliberately feel the breeze on my face, messing my hair and leaving me watery eyed.

I like breezes!

When have I stood long enough to hear, really hear, the sounds that reached me? Or to allow feelings and excitement to rise up, feelings that I had not experienced in such a long time? Uncomplicated, non-demanding, joyful feelings.

I had a great time and will do it again. Flying my kite, whilst seeming to be the simple pleasure of a long passed childhood is actually so very much more, something deep and liberating. Something we adults so very much need.

I think the Classical Chinese understood. My soul needed a good airing. How’s yours?

Yours, enjoying the breeze,

Wic