“Kites rise highest against the wind—not with it.”

– Winston Churchill

Think of a windless day. A kite, its wings spread wide, sits limp and lifeless. Its potential trapped, waiting for that gust to set it free. Now imagine the wind stirs, starts to grumble and growl. That same kite, once grounded, finds the strength to climb. It tugs at its strings, aches to rise higher. The wind resists, but the kite fights back, for it knows that adversity is the key to elevation.

Like a kite, we too, find our greatest heights not when life is calm and easy, but when challenges huff and puff at us. That push against us, those forceful gusts of life’s trials, are what send us soaring. They make us struggle, make us wrestle, but they also make us climb.

So, when life’s wind gusts and whirls, remember the kite. Its highest flight is not carried on the breeze but earned against it. Yes, kites—and we—rise highest against the wind, not with it.

Stephen Boudreau serves as VP of Brand and Community at Virtuous Software. For over two decades, he has helped nonprofits leverage the digital space to grow their impact. To that end, Stephen co-founded RaiseDonors, a platform that provides nonprofits with technology and experiences that remove barriers to successful online fundraising. He is an avid (but aging) soccer player, audiobook enthusiast, and the heavily-disputed UNO champion of his household.

Copyright ©2023 Stephen Boudreau.