Do you ever feel like life becomes too overwhelming and you want to jump ship? Storms raging around you, thunder and lightning shaking your very core.

“When you can’t change the direction of the wind — adjust your sails” ―H. Jackson Brown Jr.

As the chaotic waves crash against you, they threaten to throw you off balance by knocking your boat over; the only foundation you have. The pressure is imploding, swirling inside you, around you. Debilitating tension, body’s tight with stress and panic.  The discomfort becomes unbearable, as you freeze with fear. How long will this storm last? How long can I ride it? Can I handle my emotions enough to make it through this without exploding and running away? Where would I run to anyway? There have been periods throughout my life where there were clusters of misfortunate events, one thing after the other, slapped by life, heartache, shocking changes, death, and on and on.  You know those life changing events that send a shock wave through your world? You feel naked and vulnerable.  You want to run away and hide, but you can’t because you have to keep going, following through with your responsibilities.  Life does not stop. In the past staying and trying to work through it would have been too much for me to handle so I would blow everything up and run away.  It felt like the right thing to do in that moment, only to find myself looking back thinking, why did I do that? I made my life more of a mess by not sticking through it and riding out the storm. We all know there is always sunshine after the storm, logically at least… there’s some good news for you!  It’s just that sometimes there are storms that last longer making it harder to endure.  They test every ounce of patience, faith, and will we have inside of us. I have learned that being present through the fear, through every step, and every uncomfortable feeling is the only way to walk through it, allowing yourself to rest, to breakdown, to feel sad, frustrated, vulnerable and depressed. There is nowhere to go and nowhere to hide; you just have to find a way to get through it. Think back on your life. Think about some of the storms you have weathered in the past and wondered how you would ever get out? I am sure there were many that were bigger than the one you might be struggling with now, and somehow you did it! The human spirit is resilient. It’s almost miraculous how we can survive through such tumultuous times. It is uncomfortable, the most uncomfortable, growth is uncomfortable, but once we pass through and see the first signs of light peeking through those dark clouds, we know there is another side, where there will be calm. I truly believe storms are our teachers, if we perceive them that way. If we can be open to learn the lessons of the storms we will surely break on through to the other side, a more conscious, compassionate and quite humbled human being.  Just hang in there a little longer.  It seems that the moment when you feel you just can’t take anymore, grace is given.  Life is learning, we seem to learn the most through these intense cycles of our lives. We gain insight and inner gifts that are invaluable, and we can carry these gifts with us to make us even stronger in the future.

“If you’re going through hell, keep going” –Winston Churchill  

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