I don’t like living that way. Storms are a natural part of the world and the wondrous things in it. Without storms we wouldn’t have rain, and without rain, well we wouldn’t have flowers or gardens. Storms bring a cleansing, albeit a harsh one, to the land. And they can be truly stunning in their own right.

Like their environmental counterparts, personal storms can have the same effect. I’ve been going through my share of those too, looking at what I want to do, where and why, and figuring out how to make it happen. Dreams have been dusted off, built back up again, and others have been given a tearful farewell that in the end, turned out to be not so tearful at all.I think we get too fearful of storms.

In the case of the weather (for example where I live), the weather broadcasters get almost gleeful when they talk about tornadoes and high winds. They build up the fear, making us want to watch their shows, and we forget that storms, when handled with common sense are a normal part of the world. Sometimes bad things happen. But, for the most part, wild animals hunker down in their burrows or under cover and wait it out. When they emerge, the world is fresh and new again.

Here’s hoping that no matter what the storm, it leaves us safe and ready to face the day.