With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility?

The story of how acceptance and faith could hide codependence.

Nature is beautiful. The world is beautiful. So many colors, so much life. Everything looks awesome from up here. I’m gonna go down and say hello!

Says the wind while smoothly hissing through the skies. He likes to watch the world from up here. But sometimes he feels lonely so he goes down and gently swings the branches, touches the leaves, and hugs the grass.

I’m gonna say hello to the trees. They are always thrilled to feel me.

And he swoops down to the forest.

Hello there! How are you feeling today, my friends?

The threes are always excited to feel the wind. He makes them feel more alive when they sway with him back and forth.

We are very well, thank you! We were waiting for you. We got bored just sitting around. Come on, let’s dance.

And so the wind and the threes started a gentile dance. The wind would blow from one part and the threes would come back, like a very well-organized tandem dance. The threes would laugh and the wind would hiss.

Can you go faster, please?

Pleaded the threes.

I might break you, my dears, if I go faster

Responded the wind.

Don’t worry about us. We are strong. We can take care of ourselves.

The wind loves it when he makes the threes laugh. So he trusts them and starts to blow harder.

How is this?

Asks the wind.

The threes are having the time of their life. They are laughing, having fun, dancing, and bumping into each other. The entire forest caught a bit more life.

When everything was done, the wind went back up into the clouds, and the forest settled.

The wind looks down again at the forest. It seems to be a little different from the morning. There are leaves and branches on the ground. Threes are entangled with each other and some of them are leaning a bit. The wind is a little worried. So he goes back down to the trees

Hello again my friends. Are you all right?

Hello! We are soo glad to see you again. Comme on, let’s dance. That was soo much fun.

The trees seem very excited to see the wind again. They are eager to dance and sway again.

We would love to blow harder this time. We love it!

Ask the trees. But the wind is a little confronted with this request.

I saw that you had fun. It was fun indeed. But I saw that you are loosing leaves and branches. Is that ok for you?

We are ok. Don’t worry.

It is hard not to worry about you. You are very dear to me and I would not want to harm you. I will just blow gently.

Decided the wind. He is worried about the trees, even though he loves to make them happy and thrilled.

How about you let us decide what is too much for us? We are strong and we know what we can take. The broken leaves and branches are ok for us. They were dry and dead. It is still summer so all the leaves are strong and the ones that have fallen are just dead, and it is ok for them to fall. So let us decide when it is too much and have faith in us.

Hearing all this the wind gathered a bit more trust and he started to blow as hard as the trees wanted to and he felt wonderful. It was very fun, everyone felt spectacular.

A few days later, the rain came and after washing the entire forest she saw that the trees have broken branches and the water washed away a lot of leaves. The forest seems down and bored. She asked the wind what happened.

The forest and I have been very close. I love going down and playing with the trees. It makes me feel so useful and appreciated and it is fun.

I see that. You are all wooshing and hissing! All jolly! But did you look at the forest? It does not look very well.

Sais the rain visibly concerned.

I talked with the trees and they said that they are strong and they will tell me when it is too much for them

Says the wind, with a small defensive attitude. He is concerned about the forest as well, but he likes playing with the trees too much. And the idea that they will tell him when it is too much is convenient for him because he will not need to decide to give up on something that he enjoys soo much.

They told me that I should trust them and I should let them decide what is best for them.

This baffled the rain. It is clear to her that the forest does not look well, and that the wind knows that what he is doing is not best. But taking responsibility for the forest and deciding for the trees that this is not ok and asking the wind to stop, seems out of place. So she grabs the wind and together they roam hissing and raining, above the forest.

See there? says the rain. That stump near the lake?

Yes!

That was one of the oldest trees in the forest. He is dead now. And there, in the river, see how many branches fill up the river? Those come from those trees up the river, where now most of them are trunks

Oh! Uau!

Says the wind with a low howl.

Indeed! And all those young trees that are bent to the ground? Do you think they will be able to get back up?

I don’t know. I hope so.

The wind is feeling guilty and sad for what he has done.

Is it possible for the forrest to like the time spent with you soo much that she does not know how the play is affecting her?

Asks the rain. The wind starts blowing nervously.

But she said she is in control! She said she will be ok! She said that the broken branches and leaves do not affect her! The trees were ok with all of this.

I know they said that. I am sure you are making them feel awesome. But do they feel the same when you are not there?

I don’t know! I don’t know, rain.

The wind is sad! He loved to make the forest happy, to see the trees dance and laugh. It made him feel wanted, and important. It made him forget the feeling of being useless and alone.

He saw the effect he had on the trees but he hid behind what they said and refused to see their lack of strength.

He used the apparent strength of the forest to run from the responsibility of making a hard decision.

You see, if he would decide to stop, it would make the forest hate him because he would not give them the feeling that they love. At the same time, he would go back to feeling useless and alone.

If he would continue, the forest would continue to feel good, the trees would continue to love him, praise him, and he would continue to feel wanted and not alone. But the forest might get more affected by him, maybe even irreparable. At the same time, maybe the forest will realize what is happening and she will stop him when is too much. Or maybe she already knows what is happening to her and she is ok. He is the wind, he might not know what a forest should look like.

The rains stopped! The forest called for him again! Drawn by his needs he went down to the forest.