Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.

“Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it.” Thus proclaimed Winston Churchill, the lion-hearted statesman whose words carried the weight of fire and steel. In this saying lies a truth carved into the marrow of existence: that it is resistance, not ease, that lifts men and women to their greatest heights. The kite, fragile yet daring, does not ascend when the wind runs with it, but only when it struggles against the current. So too the soul of man—it is not in times of comfort that greatness is forged, but in adversity, in trial, in the storm that opposes every step.

The ancients knew this secret. Heraclitus, the dark philosopher of Greece, declared, “Strife is justice.” For without the pull of resistance, there can be no ascent. The bowstring must be drawn back for the arrow to fly; the storm must press against the tree for its roots to grow deep. So too the kite, a plaything of children yet a symbol of eternal truth, climbs only when the wind resists. Churchill, who guided Britain through its darkest hour, saw in this image the law of life: adversity is the very wind that lifts us.

Consider the story of Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for twenty-seven long years. Against the wind of injustice, against the storm of oppression, he did not fall—he rose. Each day of confinement, each lash of hardship, gave his spirit new strength. When at last he emerged from his cell, he soared not only as a leader of South Africa but as a symbol to the world. Had his path been smooth, had the winds been gentle, perhaps his name would not shine as it does now. But because the wind was fierce, his flight was high.

Churchill himself embodied these words. When Nazi bombers rained destruction upon London, when Britain stood nearly alone against tyranny, many despaired. But Churchill declared, “We shall never surrender.” He knew the truth of the kite—that it was precisely because the winds of war were fierce that Britain could rise in defiance. Had there been no storm, there would have been no glory. The struggle against overwhelming odds became the wind beneath the wings of a nation.

O children of tomorrow, take this to heart: do not curse the headwinds of your life. Do not despise resistance, nor flee from difficulty. For though it burns, though it exhausts, though it seems to drive you backward, it is secretly lifting you higher. The soul that faces no storm remains low; the soul that embraces the tempest ascends to greatness. Like the kite, you were made to rise not with the wind but against it.

The lesson is clear: adversity is the proving ground of strength. When hardship comes, do not ask for it to vanish—ask for the courage to meet it. When opposition rises, see in it not your enemy but your ally, for it is the wind itself that gives you the power to soar. Practically, let each person do this: when faced with trial, lean into it rather than retreat. Set your face against the wind, anchor your will, and rise step by step, knowing that every force that resists you is the very force that shapes you.

Thus remember Churchill’s words: “Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it.” Carry them in the storm, and let them remind you that your struggles are not your downfall but your wings. For the winds that oppose you are the very winds that lift you, and he who learns to face them will rise higher than he ever dreamed.