As we continue through this Eastertide, I often find myself reflecting on the bygone days in Sierra Leone, when kite flying went hand in hand with this season.
I have always found something deeply symbolic about it, and it is a shame to see it no longer a community practice. The way a kite lifts itself into the sky; fragile, yet steady and determined, almost feels like a reflection of the resurrection. Not just in the religious sense, but in the everyday way we rebuild and rise again… reaching for something higher.
Kite flying is a fun activity, yet layered with deep meaning. It is a wonderful and very visual illustration of Hope!
If you have ever made a kite, and I have, numerous times, you know it is not always successful, yet that is part of the journey.
I remember handling the delicate tissue paper with such care; the aim to build with absolute intention, avoiding rips but not using too much glue. If you managed to perfect this, all that remained was hope!
Hope for wind; enough to carry, but not break the delicate binds.
Hope our creation is balanced and strong; holding its own against the elements.
Hope that in the initial chaos of the lift; it becomes smoother leading to flight.
And as your kite finally latches onto the wind (mawnt kayt), with the string pulling tight as it climbs, something inside of you rises with it. A sense of wonder. Stillness. A gentle breeze.
Notes, Heaven Bound
In this moment, the most beautiful part, is what we ‘send up’ with the kite: joy, hope, colour, flashes of personality … and handwritten messages!
Often, during a successful flight, family and friends carefully tie small pieces of paper to the twine. These notes then spin and flit their way upward, travelling along the line until they meet the kite. They are the carriers of private messages, hopes and prayers; wishes that we might not say aloud. Things we hold onto and things we’re ready to release.
As they flutter upwards, catching the wind, catching light, these tiny declarations enhance the magic of the line.
Once they are all in the sky… we simply let it go.
Let Go!
We release what we have been holding so tightly onto.
No pulling back.
No hesitancy.
Just a quiet decision to let it drift beyond us, carrying with it, everything. All the messages, the meaning, the hope!
It is no longer ours!
Maybe it will land somewhere unexpected, where someone will find it; and our words, sent into the sky, will be read. Or maybe, it will just keep going… God knows.
There is something powerful in the act of letting go. Trusting that what we release still matters, yet reassured that not everything needs to be held tightly in order to be meaningful. That hope doesn’t disappear; it quietly travels.
Some things are meant to rise and some are meant to be released… go fly your kite!
