The Wind, the Sun, a Rose and a Crobar!

Today is the start of Mental Health week here in the UK and I was pondering a theme for a blog. The changeable weather we’re experiencing provided me with some needed inspiration. Yesterday afternoon my husband and I set off for a walk round our local area. When we set off it was blowing a bit of a gale and the clouds looked threatening, not unusual for Greater Manchester! We were both wearing thick winter coats and duly zipped them up to keep out the unseasonal chill. Half way through our walk however the clouds disappeared and the sun emerged.  We were both soon unzipping our coats, not much later taking them off as it grew warmer and warmer. At that moment my husband reminded me of the story of ‘The Wind and the Sun.’  The story goes that both the Wind and the Sun have a bet who can make a man remove his coat.  The Wind tries first, confident that a gust or two will see the coat blown off, however the more the Wind tries the more the man tightens his coat.  No matter how great the force of the wind the man refuses to let go of his coat.  When it’s the Sun’s turn it just stands shining effortlessly. Before long the man is undoing his coat in the heat of the Sun.  After a bit more shining the Sun sees the man remove his coat completely and he is declared the winner.

This story makes me smile.  There are lots of different metaphors in this little story and the interpretation is left to the reader. For me this story is about choice, particularly when it comes to manifesting your future dreams and goals or chasing change to happen. The more you try and force something, the less likely it will. How often have you been in a situation where you’ve tried to find something you’ve lost and frantically searched only to find it the the minute you let go of trying. Or when you’ve tried to control and force an outcome you want only for it to happen the moment you choose to give up trying to control it. Making the choice to hang on tightly with the desire to control leads to the resistance. This reminds me of a quote I recently heard on my Forest Therapy course from Ben Page, a fellow guide; ‘You can’t open a rose with a crowbar!’ Force is futile, growth comes from letting go, trusting in your inner self and nurturing with loving intent. This is reflected to me in nature, nature doesn’t rush, it chooses patience, growing strong roots that will withstand stormy, windy weather takes time.  This has never been more true for our well-being after the stresses of living through a global pandemic. Take the time to nurture yourself, your loved ones, your business and each other. Practice patience whatever the outcome you desire is or situation you want to change, and it will happen, the Sun will shine.