I've just woken up from a night of interrupted sleep. Aside from my 3-year old asking for “tuck-ins” following his trips to the bathroom, I was startled awake a few times by the rain lashing at the windows and the howling of the wind, which apparently reached speeds of up to 60 mph last night. This morning, the street outside is littered with twigs and leaves, evidence of the storm that just passed through the area. And yet - the sky is now suddenly blue, the sun bright, and the air crisp and clean. There’s a sense of newness and freshness that cannot be had unless a storm had passed through, dampening the earth and clearing the air.
I’m reminded of the many clients I’ve worked with who have come to me in the midst of their own storms of life, often feeling that their particular storm - anxiety, depression, or the sleep deprivation of new parenthood- will simply go on forever. In the midst of this storm, we don’t see the blue sky or the clean air, we only can see the winds and rain battering us incessantly. At that moment, we can choose to surrender to hopelessness, to overwhelm - or to trust that there will be an end to the storm. We often need others - a friend, partner, or therapist - to speak the truth that our storm will not last forever. And then, we need to trust that we can and will make it to the other side.
What awaits us on the other side? Much like storms clear the air and send rain to nourish seedlings, the storms of our life can clear out the clutter and clarify what is truly important to us. Those twigs littering the street after the windstorm may, for you, be societal expectations you no longer need, or excessive commitments, or old habits. By shaking them off, you emerge lighter, whittled down to the essence of what is important to you, yet still whole. The storms of life also can create fertile ground for personal growth, by turning us both inward and by empowering us to reach out for support from friends, family, or supportive new habits. Those same people who come to me lost in their own storms often emerge with a new sense of identity, of purpose, and of the beauty of their life as the sun emerges after their own storms. If you are in the midst of a storm, know you are not alone. Reach out for support - to a friend, a loved one, or a therapist - who can serve as a beacon of hope to guide you through the wind and the rain.