Looking Through the Miraculous Lens

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is." ~ Albert Einstein

I'm leading with a strong quote today from a wild-haired theoretical physicist.  From the moment I read this quote it became one of my favorites.  One mind and two eyes, but two views.  Two mindsets.  Two lenses through which to view life.  Two lenses to view absolutely everything.

There are so many analogies and parallels to draw on at this point, but let's talk about kites.

It's a topic that has surfaced in my life recently for a special reason.  It's something so seemingly mundane to discuss but that's the exact point of this.  One man's mundaneness is another man's opportunity to look through the miraculous lens.

As a kid I viewed a kite as a toy, purchased at the toy or corner drug store.  It was a simple configuration rolled into a clear plastic bag.  Upon further inspection I always found it contained usually hollow plastic rods, a diamond-shaped plastic skin to be stretched and the tethering string.  Simple.  Seemed to be void of much thought.  All the makings of a mundane experience.

Flying a kite as a kid is more often a test in patience and persistence, than an exhilarating experience. We hold the string tightly to control the kite's flight, raise our arms minimally to instigate lift and hope for the best.  More often than not our control forces it to nosedive into the ground.  Do you see the view through the lens that nothing is a miracle?

Switch to the Miraculous Lens

Kites have had a bum rap.  They've been characterized as directionless, controllable and uncomplicated.  What if that was entirely wrong?  What if the beauty and miracle of a kite is that it rises against the forces of nature?  What if the complexity of the engineering is meant to appear simple in design?

In contrast to my childhood thoughts on kites, I see them differently now.  I see the the wonder of flight.  I see effort and strength.  I see the beauty of accomplishment in rising.

Looking through the lens that everything is a miracle I see that kites are truly a work of art, more than 2000 years old, complex in concept and simple in design.  The materials or characteristics of design, while seemingly weightless and fragile in their own right, combine to form the proper structure to endure the winds of the earth.  Their skin fills with just enough air to rise, relying on the internal frame for just enough support, to create a harmonious existence amongst the stars.  And the string we believe tethers this kite does no such thing.  The kite seeks not to be tethered and that's why, as children, we force it to nosedive.  The kite is pulling us, not fighting us.  The kite, in true optimistic form, wants nothing more than to fly and bring us along, too.

"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it." ~ Winston Churchill

I realize this is perhaps a bit obscure.  But, how does it translate to life and the people in our lives?  How can we see this as an example that limiting our mindset and viewing life as though nothing is a miracle affects our ability to appreciate the people in our lives?

Let's just take it one person at a time.  When you meet that one person in your life who displays characteristics similar to a kite appreciate them.  They are a miracle.  See their desire to rise and grow; recognize the complexity of their soul and the simplicity of their spirit; understand the vulnerability and strength necessary to set themselves against the backdrop of the open sky and take flight; grasp the concept that should you recognize and support their journey they want to bring you to them, not resist your tether.

Yes, kites have had a bum rap, but I sure do love them ;)

"Kites seek not to be tethered, flowers seek not to be picked, and birds seek not to be caged.  When you harness the beautiful things in life you remove their ability to be beautiful." ~ Jason Huntsinger