The “I” of the Storm
This week, we witnessed the second of two devastating hurricanes which rocked the United States and much of the Caribbean. Irma, now on record as having sustained the highest winds (185 mph for 37 hours) hit just days after Harvey, which left much of Houston underwater. Here in Atlanta, I lost power for 24 hours. As I sat in the dark, grateful that my house didn’t sustain the kind of damage many people were facing, I began to think about the metaphysical meaning behind these storms.
Life can sometimes feel very much like a hurricane. Everything we believe to be true can change in an instant with one phone call. A relationship or job ends, a loved one dies unexpectedly, we receive a diagnosis – these outside experiences have the potential to plummet our thoughts into chaos, unable to make decisions and take action when it’s needed most; but they don’t have to.
At the center of every hurricane is the eye – a single point in space where the forces of the storm are in perfect equilibrium. Just outside this center, the power of the wind blows with devastating ferocity, but in the eye, there is peace, calm, clarity and stillness. We can harness the power of the storm by entering “the I”, that centered place inside us that knows the truth.
It is in the stillness where we can experience the storm without resisting the winds of doubt and fear. As you watch your failed relationship, your old job, your diagnosis fly past you in swirling chaos, you know that inside “the I”, all is well. Are you still having a human experience? Absolutely. But you know at your core that you are perfect and whole. You are not your job. You are not your relationship. You are not your diagnosis. Somewhere in the dance between humanness and Divinity, the still small voice resides, ready to guide you as you navigate the storm.
What we resist persists, therefore it’s important that we relax into the present moment. Resisting life’s flow only creates pain and suffering. When we try to control external circumstances, we create a resistance to the perfection of the moment. The chaos of the storm clouds our vision and we are unable to act.
But as we settle into “the I”, we can begin to hear the still small voice, the truth of our being. Our perceptions of reality become clear, devoid of the pressure of the storm, the falsehood of our limited beliefs and we are able to act with more freedom and clarity. We are the “I” of the hurricane. Stand up for the integrity of who we are and be the “I” instead of dipping into the chaos and letting it pull us off center.
Storms often create a pathway of destruction, but they are still expressions of creative energy. Where a storm clears a path, flowers can grow.
It has been a difficult time in our country and the world. Derision permeates the news. We seem to be in a descending cycle of chaos, hanging on for dear life to our beliefs and position, regardless of new evidence. I know that we are on the precipice of a new paradigm; a shift in our cosmic energy. Contrast leads to clarity. Sometimes we need a dramatic example of what isn’t working before we can shift energetically to recognize what it is we want.
It’s sometimes hard to maintain this perspective when we turn on the news, but then the storms came, and I saw the best in humanity. Suddenly race, creed and political affiliation ceased to matter and people set aside the false perceptions of division to help their neighbor. Why is this? What is it about a hurricane that brings strangers together to help each other with selfless ferocity? I believe it’s because in the face of a faceless tragedy, we are able to recognize our oneness. Rather than fighting for our position, we remember our Divine connection. This is the gift the storm can bring. We are one human family.
