The river canyon trail had such a head wind, I almost felt like I was pedaling a stationary bike. I could have turned back several times, but I kept pushing because I was dreaming of the tail wind.
I'd done this head wind/ tail wind many times before and though I hoped I would exchange one for the other, I still wasn't 100% for sure it would happen. Mother nature has tricked me before. The most memorable was at the end of a kayak day trip on the Napali coast. We were on the tenth hour of paddling and could see the shore of our arrival. A beautiful tail wind kicked in and the boat almost moved without us. I took a 4ft by 4ft scarf, tied it to my paddle and the sides of the kayak, held it up and we sailed at an unprecedented speed toward destination's end.
But then....as suddenly as a drop in the stock market, the wind reversed. What should have been a short 20 minute slide into the sand, became a two hour fight to reach the coastline. There was no break--any resting and the wind pushed us back. When we finally climbed out of the kayak, we were exhausted and grateful. I'd never paddled so hard and for so long in my life.
When I finally reached the top of the bike trail, I turned around, anxious for the tail wind--the reward for my hard work. The glorious tail wind was behind me now and I had time to think of all the metaphorical head winds I'd encountered in my life. While working on my agent request and re-write, I felt like I was heading straight into a sixteen knot wind: rethinking language, plot changes and additions, and the hardest headwind of all--depending on precious friends and family for their critical edits.
If the agent accepts the manuscript, I'll enjoy a moment of tailwind; if the books sells I'll enjoy another moment of tail wind before I have another round of edits or another colossal head wind.
For the most part, life will consist of head winds and tail winds. Though I may despise the head wind, it's actually the critical part in all aspects of development and getting to the reward or the fun--it's the climbing the mountain in order to sled down the mountain.
If life was just a tail wind, we'd be headed in only one direction--it might be fun at first but pretty soon I'd find myself far away from where I wanted to be.
I'd done this head wind/ tail wind many times before and though I hoped I would exchange one for the other, I still wasn't 100% for sure it would happen. Mother nature has tricked me before. The most memorable was at the end of a kayak day trip on the Napali coast. We were on the tenth hour of paddling and could see the shore of our arrival. A beautiful tail wind kicked in and the boat almost moved without us. I took a 4ft by 4ft scarf, tied it to my paddle and the sides of the kayak, held it up and we sailed at an unprecedented speed toward destination's end.
But then....as suddenly as a drop in the stock market, the wind reversed. What should have been a short 20 minute slide into the sand, became a two hour fight to reach the coastline. There was no break--any resting and the wind pushed us back. When we finally climbed out of the kayak, we were exhausted and grateful. I'd never paddled so hard and for so long in my life.
When I finally reached the top of the bike trail, I turned around, anxious for the tail wind--the reward for my hard work. The glorious tail wind was behind me now and I had time to think of all the metaphorical head winds I'd encountered in my life. While working on my agent request and re-write, I felt like I was heading straight into a sixteen knot wind: rethinking language, plot changes and additions, and the hardest headwind of all--depending on precious friends and family for their critical edits.
If the agent accepts the manuscript, I'll enjoy a moment of tailwind; if the books sells I'll enjoy another moment of tail wind before I have another round of edits or another colossal head wind.
For the most part, life will consist of head winds and tail winds. Though I may despise the head wind, it's actually the critical part in all aspects of development and getting to the reward or the fun--it's the climbing the mountain in order to sled down the mountain.
If life was just a tail wind, we'd be headed in only one direction--it might be fun at first but pretty soon I'd find myself far away from where I wanted to be.