Sometimes flair bursts into our lives in obvious forms: a promotion at work, good news from the doctor, a first date, or an unexpected gift. Other times, we consciously create flair. We do something out-of-the-ordinary like take a vacation, enjoy a nice dinner out, or challenge ourselves to try some new sport.
Today, I tried to plan my flair. It involved taking the girls to a beautiful creek. And while the whole morning made us smile as we splashed in a creek collecting rocks, it didn't create that stop-me-in-my-tracks reflection moment so characteristic of flair.
What did was the split second I decided to thrust my hand out of the car window to feel the breeze as I drove home from the creek. I spread my fingers out, then did that undulating wave-like motion to feel the air flow, and finally, like some large awkward bird, I actually started flapping my arm in the wind. (If you happened to be driving behind me and wondered who that crazy woman was on the road today, yup, that was me.)
Soon, the girls copied me. The older one said, "Are we allowed to do this?" and the little one just said, "Ahhhh! That's feels nice." There we were, driving down the road, flapping our arms. Fully alive, fully enjoying the rush of wind on our hands. We couldn't help but laugh.
Flair does that.
It was a small decision to enjoy the wind with my hand. And it made me think about other tiny gestures of the body. Maybe today I could stop, lay down on the warm grass and turn my face toward the sun. Maybe, no matter how stressed I feel or how trapped I am in a schedule, I could open a window somewhere.
Living with flair means I let my hand enjoy the wind.
This is funny because on the road trip to Florida last weekend, I asked if my friends wanted to have a contest to see who could hold there face completely out of the window the longest on the highway. I won, and it turned out to be one of the most exhilirating moments of the trip for me.
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