After millennia of pondering, thousands of books written, billions of words said, and a lot more unsaid, understanding the meaning of life remains as elusive as the wind. It would seem that something as fundamental as life itself would benefit immensely from a clear image of its disposition, and yet, here we are, as apprehensive as ever—the most confused species on this planet.

But really, it’s all in the wind.  

Humankind takes two billion breaths every second. Inhale… exhale. The air that makes up all of those breaths is the same air that roams freely, sees, hears, and feels everything. Because life is everything.

The wind breezes through a city park on a quiet summer weekend when the sunrays are bursting through the gentle blue of the sky, illuminating the greensward of the grass and the rainbow bursts of flowers. It sweeps down a muffin crumb from a picnic basket, and carries away a cheering laugh, as the family sitting in a circle on a plaid blanket watches an opportunistic ant hurrying the newfound treasure to the ant queen’s feast.

The wind takes a trip to the gently sloping golden beach and swirls together with two waggish dogs running in circles, chasing after each other’s tails. The sand flurries around, clinging onto the pooches’ fur, decorating the cold noses that smell all there has been, and covering yellow tennis balls that had just been enthusiastically rescued from the water. A bond is formed over a shared love of fetch among the four and two-legged friends.

Gliding from the beach into the ocean, the wind takes the shape of currents and waves. It travels from glistening surfaces to the depths filled with unimaginable creatures, glowing fish and spiky urchins. It watches as the sea anemone and clownfish offer each other food and shelter in an unspoken camaraderie. A school of fish swims past a coral reef, uncovering a seashell for a skittering crab to find and treasure. It hears faraway songs of the whales sharing stories of adventure and undiscovered sights with anyone keen to listen.

Twisting through the earth, the wind makes its way underground, settling down to a standstill. It observes in amusement as the worms and bugs wriggle and dig around, making a home in what acts as a foundation for life above ground. It sees how plants come alive and spread their roots in a tangled tango of nourishment. Moving on up as they get harvested, the wind sees plants turning into food, and food bringing people together for delicious smells and laughter, both of which the wind so loves to carry.

The wind watches a little girl dancing carelessly in the rain. It joins her dance, making sure that by the time the symphony rolls away, not a single thread of her clothes is dry. The dancer and the trees and the grass and the sky are all swaddled together, courtesy of the wind. And everything around her is so, so alive.

And when joy gives way to fear and worry, when life feels small and insignificant, the wind knows better. Because the wind sees all, hears all, and feels all, and it does it all at once. The wind watches everything being alive. It hears how every creature, plant and place takes the gift of life and celebrates it. The variety and interconnectedness of this celebration—relationships, support, emotions and embraces—gives it immeasurable magnitude, at the core of which is a little bit of the wind reminding us that we are here: inhale… exhale.

The wind steers and guides, cautions, comforts, dances along and observes life, but it doesn’t define what life means. It knows what life is. The wind has seen it a myriad of times in the valiant acts of opening oneself up to the breezes, gales, and gusts that carry love and connection around the world. From simply waving hello on a summer day to embracing the enveloping mist of rain, we all create and unfold the mystery we call life by being life itself.