LET YOURSELF GO WITH THE WIND

LET YOURSELF GO WITH THE WIND 

Having spent the whole weekend cleaning, Aysun sank into the couch, exhausted and annoyed with herself.

After every deep cleaning, she would grumble to herself, almost as if talking to someone else. She would grumble, yes, but deep down she knew it was pointless. She just couldn’t rid herself of this obsession with cleanliness and order. Wasn’t that the reason she had problems everywhere she went? She couldn’t even remember how many times she had requested a reassignment. Tired and frustrated with herself, she picked up her phone. As she scrolled through social media, she clicked on one of those health videos she had recently grown fond of.

The video claimed that scientific studies had been mistaken. For years, it had been taught in medical schools that the fastest sperm was the one that fertilized the egg. However, new research suggested that it wasn’t the fastest, but the one that resonated with the egg’s frequency, that won the race.
“What does it even mean for a sperm and egg to be compatible?” After watching the same video a few times, phrases she’d heard since childhood echoed in her ears:
“You have to get used to it, you have to adapt, go with the flow, blend in...”
Warnings that she was incompatible, the scoldings, the lectures she’d endured since childhood flashed before her like a movie reel. She couldn’t eat from the same plate as others, or drink from the same glass during visits. At the beach or playground, if sand got in her shoes, she’d get irritated and stop playing just to go clean up.

And that’s how she became a cleanliness freak. Cleanliness, meticulousness, order, symmetry—she had it all.

She stepped out onto the balcony and started gazing at the Toros Mountains lined up in front of her. Whenever she felt melancholy or homesick, she found herself in that same pose. When evening came, the north wind (poyraz) would blow, sweeping everything away in its path.

In fact, she had struggled a lot during her first days in this town. It was scorching hot during the day, but the sound of the wind at night sent chills down her spine like a scream. Her neighbor across the hall, Uncle Salih, went for a walk every morning at dawn and would return just as Aysun left for work. One morning, she couldn’t help but ask him:

— Uncle Salih, is this wind normal? It blew everything off the balcony again last night. Its sound, like a scream, wakes me from sleep.

Uncle Salih let out a hearty laugh and replied:

+ Look, Aysun dear, our hometown is famous for its poyraz. You wouldn’t survive here otherwise. My late grandmother used to say,
“If it blows, it will tear everything down. If it doesn’t, it will scorch everything.”
If there were no poyraz, life here would be much harder. The heat would rise to levels that disrupt daily life, and people wouldn’t even be able to go outside. You’d better get used to our poyraz.
When we build houses, plant fields, or even set up stalls in the market, we position everything according to the poyraz.

He spoke about the north wind like it was a charming little child.

Aysun hadn’t liked the answer much that day.

— How ridiculous! A wind won’t dictate my life. These people shape everything based on the wind? Is that even livable? Once my term here is over, I’m out. May God give strength to those who stay behind, she had said with her usual scorn as she continued on her way.

Now, looking at the trees, they didn’t seem to be complaining about the wind. Wherever the wind blew, they leaned in that direction. That alone was enough to show they were in harmony with the wind. In a world where she was the one out of sync, everything else was in perfect harmony—mountains with curves, trees with the wind, wind with the climate, climate with the region, region with the poyraz, and poyraz with living conditions...

She realized that the more she resisted, the more she complained. If you walked on the beach, sand would get in your shoes. If you sat under trees, bugs were bound to fall on you. She now understood that she had resisted the whole reality of nature for years. While the entire universe served human comfort, why was mankind always so dissatisfied?

Then her eyes caught the Palestinian flag fluttering on her balcony. She felt a pang in her chest. She wiped away her tears.

“Oh dear Gaza...
What’s kept you standing for months, what’s taught the world a lesson in humanity, is your complete, unconditional harmony with the harsh conditions of war...
I’m sorry for realizing this truth so late…”

Her new life motto was now clear:
Let yourself go with the wind—if it blows, it will speed you up; if it doesn’t, you run.

Since the beginning of humanity, Our greatest friend and enemy has remained the same: The person in the mirror...

"Experiential Design Teaching" is dedicated to help humans discover their true purpose. It guides people toward open consciousness to make better decisions and choices. It offers strategies for real solutions to real problems.

The programs that begin with “Who’s Who,” followed by “Mastery in Relationships” and “The Psychology of Success,” aim to help people become happier and more successful compared to their past selves.