Adversity drives the process of natural selection while creating more life and prosperity. In nature, the wind of adversity has its own special reason. It serves to clean the air and to spread the seeds from millions of trees and plants all over the world. The essential role the wind plays in the reproductive process is perfect in its own imperfection.
On the wings of the wind, seeds are spread to faraway places where they will find their new home and begin the germination process. They begin to take root in the soil as their leaves open to find the sun. When the wind returns with force and determination, the new seedlings are tested as they cling precariously to their perch. It’s a fight of life and death where the weakest are uprooted and tossed aside, while the strongest dig deeper to defend their territory.
The wind of adversity plays a similar role in our lives. If it weren’t for the trials and tribulations which mark our path, progress would be very limited. Obstacles in our path strengthen our resolve and develop our creativity. Inclement weather causes us to make clothes, predators lead us to make weapons and geographical limitations have caused us to develop modes of transportation.
Those who never face the strong wind of adversity are those who eat, breathe and reproduce without ever really experiencing the true pleasure of living. Those who overcome challenge develop a particular instinct not just to survive but to thrive in any circumstance. The 
difference between one person and another isn’t in what can be seen in their physical being, rather in what they have experienced. Success does not belong to the one who has been given a lot and lost a little, rather to the one who has been given a little and attained a lot.
Those who fight valiantly for success know they are capable of losing everything and coming back, while those who begin with a lot and lose a little find it difficult to bounce back from adversity. Life does not consist in having a good hand and protecting it, rather in taking the hand we’ve been given and playing it to the best of our ability. The wind of adversity isn’t an impediment to progress, rather a force which allows us to face the storm, spread our wings and soar on the wings of success.
∞ Rob McBride ∞
LL III 37