There were many words here and they told a story that you might not just like but love.
You’d read about the people and places and want to meet and visit them.
Why?
Because they are the kind of people and places that capture your eye and grab your attention. They might not get it the first time around, but if you took a moment to do more than glance you’d see it.
But you’d have to put down your smartphone and look around. You’d have to take off your earbuds and come out of the bubble that so many of us walk around in.
But if you did those things and your eyes were opened you’d discover the people have an understated charisma and the places were both magical and majestic.
It would feel like a secret world.
Except the thing about all of this is that the words that were here, the ones that provided the information and background about these people and places were washed away by a storm.
And now you have a plain and somewhat sterile description of what once was. It is not nearly as exciting or compelling as it once was.
It is like a soup or stew with a hint of flavoring or a Vanilla cone that has the remnants of sprinkles.
But I’d ask you to ask a question about whether the storm was destructive or not. I’d ask you to look deep and think about if perhaps the storm stripped away the unnecessary and exposed something more important.
Storms Reveal Who You Are Inside
The nameless and faceless talking heads will tell you that you never learn how strong you are mentally and physically until you have been tested by a storm.
You never find out what sort of mettle lies beneath the flesh until it comes.
And if you asked me to share my opinion I’d say it is true.
I’d say the storm exposes the foundation and forces you to look at your beliefs and determine what they are built upon.
“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
It took a while for me to recognize the impact of the first storm and longer to accept it. But eventually I did and when the second one hit I didn’t fight it.
I embraced it.
Did my best to dance in the rain and instead of fighting it I moved with it, harnessed its power and accepted I could not push the river aside.
All I could do was steer my ship and do my best to avoid the reefs and rocks as I came upon them.
That is how it is done.
Follow the sun by day and the moon by night until you reach where you are going and then you rest because the journey never ends.
