The Hendersons in Himeji: Lets go fly a kite...

On Sunday Audrey and I had the opportunity to go to a kite flying festival here in Himeji. Two of Audrey's wonderful Shogai students met us at our apartment to show us how to get to the festival. We were very excited to see what this was all about, but at the same time we were a little nervous because it was soooo cold! So after about a 20 minute bike ride we arrived at a horse track. On the infield there were hundreds of people with their kites. It was very windy so the conditions were prime for kite flying. There were a few special kites that had to be at least 3 stories tall. They had pictures of the Himeji castle, samurai and many other beautiful Japanese prints. It was magnificent watching the team work that it took for them to get these monstrous kites up in the air and even more interesting watching them drop from the sky like a rock and smash into the ground. These kites had to weigh hundreds of pounds so people in the crowd had to watch their heads as they came crashing down. After 30 minutes or so of watching others fly their kites Audrey and I decided that we wanted to get in on the fun. We bought a beautiful kite and Audrey took it for its maiden voyage. It was so fun watching her face as the kite flipped and spun all over the sky. But after about 3 minutes of precise maneuvering she lost control and it came down with a thud. Next, I got a chance to give it a try. I got it up in the air and kept letting the string out until the kite was as high as the string would allow it to go. It was such a great feeling. I really felt like a kid again as I stared up at the kite, watching it twist and turn. As I was holding onto that string I couldn't help but think. What it is about flying a kite that is so exhilarating? Maybe its the fact that we are holding onto something that is actually flying, or that we have so little control over it and we are at the mercy of the wind. Or maybe its just takes us back to our childhood, when things were simple and we imagined what it would be like floating far above the earth, being gently pushed here and there by the wind. Just as I was getting lost in my thoughts, the wind changed directions, I lost control and SMACK! My kite flying experience and daydream came to a screeching halt as the kite slammed into the ground. WELL CRAP! As I stared at our kite, sprawled out on the grass about 30 yards ahead of us, I quickly remembered the agony that comes along with flying a kite. As a kid and still to this day, I have not had a kite flight that has ended well. I mean think about it. The wind picks up, the kite gracefully lifts into the air, you slowly let out the string and watch in amazement as gently floats higher and higher. But as the saying goes "what goes up, must come down" and usually in the case of kites, it comes down much harder than it went up. I then began to think that in many ways, life is flying a kite. One minute you are floating high in the sky without a care in the world, then the wind changes just slightly and you start to lose control. We quickly realize how little control we really have and that there is something much bigger than us that is guiding our kite. It doesn't matter how hard we pull or how much line we let out, we cant seem to make the kite go exactly where we want it to go. Then, all of the sudden the kite goes up and then down and around and just when you think you have it righted it starts getting squirlly again and no matter how hard you try, it finally comes crashing to the ground. Now, all kite crashes are different. Many times the damage to the kite changes depending on how far the kite fell. Like when Audrey flew our kite, she didn't let it go much higher than 20 ft. and when the kite came down, we easily dusted it off and sent it right back with no problems. On the other hand, when I was flying the kite I let it go out as far as the string would allow and it came down with much more force. Granted, it was very exhilarating for me, as I could barely see a speck of our kite up in the sky, but there was a price to pay after it came down. It took us about 10 minutes to wind the string up and untangle all the knots and when we tried to fly our kite again we could barely get it up in the air before it would nose dive again. Upon closer inspection we realized that there was a rip in the paper and one of supporting pieces was broken. This meant that our kite, in its current condition, would never fly again. This left us with a decision to make. Do we try to repair our kite and try to get it airborne again, or do we give it up and call it a day. We could probably get some duck tape and reinforcement pieces and make it fly again, heck we probably could have made it even stronger than it was when we bought it. But on this day we were happy to have had the experience and were ready to take our kite home and hang it on our wall. Much like life, we always have choice to make after we come down from the highest points. Do we pick up the pieces and try to build our kite stronger for the next flight, or do we take our kite and hang it on the wall to remind us of better days. Maybe we will fix our kite and take it out on a warm spring day and see what it can do. Will it be different this time? Will I be more careful as to how high I let it get, knowing what happened last time. Or will I just let it all hang out again and enjoy the ride while it lasts. I know that each and every one of our kites are in different places right now. Some are flying high, others are a bit out of control, maybe yours is just starting new assent while others are ready to hang it on the wall for awhile. Wherever your kite maybe, I hope you know who is really in control, and the best part about that is HE has wonderful plans for our kites, plans much bigger than we can even imagine!