Photo by Justin Novello on Unsplash
Everyone came out onto the street while the storm water was still flowing down to the sewer grates at the end of the block. We picked up the balls of hail, then looked for bigger ones.
Even when Paul Henderson scored the goal to beat those Russians in ’72 people, at least my neighbourhood, didn’t flood out onto the streets. Election Day – no one gets this excited.
The closest thing would be Halloween at 6:30 when the parents are taking the young ones to trick or treat and the street is a hive of activity – this 30 minutes is one of the best feelings of Halloween.
The storm was quick – 25 minutes from start to finish on a mid September afternoon around 6 pm. We were home from school and my dad was home from work but we hadn’t eaten. It got dark fast as if the storm had pulled down the window shade. The hail pelted the roof like a bully’s snowballs on the back of your head. Hard and relishing in their own nature.
I was scared. I was 10. I was still out of sorts when everyone slowly leaked out of their houses into the street, as if on cue in a sci-fi movie.
The air was super clean having been zapped by the biggest, closest lightning in years. So clean of the smog of the day, of the dust balls of neighbourhood history that parents and children chatted with cocktail party buzz.
That’s the spirit! After the storm to be full of life and community. Life has many a storm that we need to live through, even if we start it ourselves. What is being said here is who we are after the storm can be programmed in before the storm. If not, we may end up at the whim of the day. We can’t control the day but we can decide what we want for today, relationships and situations without micro-managing. Situations are meetings, conversations, jokes and disagreements…
Going into anything we need a game plan: marriage:), a new job, shopping. This can help to manage our energy, our emotions so we get more of what we want without being exhausted and unhappy. Because we are learning how to manage our energy (and why) we usually end up being our own worst enemy. Often we argue because we can’t find it in ourselves to agree or apologize or ask for clarity. If we can know how we want to be in this and the next moment, and communicate it, then we might be able to maintain calm before, during and after the storm.
When we argue we need to have something good to think about when we finish otherwise we can think stupid thoughts because we are in an angry place. Like going to the supermarket hungry, you buy to stuff to eat now and not to cook.
Like a negotiation – ask yourself what you want to walk out with. Also how do you want to walk out – happy, with dignity? Some negotiations can be really tough when you stand up for yourself or good things you are in service to.
Stress and the storms of life are inevitable and there are some of the best personal growth vitamins in actual fact. Personal Storm management is the basis for lots of personal and interpersonal well being plus providing a foundation for further growth.
The Wild Coach 