Written by Phil Okrend – I’ve been thinking about storms lately. As Hurricane Joquin blew its way around the Southeast and Atlantic, causing flooding of biblical proportions in the state of South Carolina, there was a sense that these storms can be random. We never know where they are going to hit and who will be affected. These real physical storms are felt but storms are not all of an environmental nature. We all are subject to storms in our lives. These storms can take the form of a health, relationship, business or financial crisis that can land unexpectedly. What these storms do is put us at a choice point. The storm signals to us that something needs to change in our lives. Perhaps we need to make a change to really move forward in our lives, and the storm awakens us from complacency.
I believe that the storm offers two choices. The first choice is to resist the need to change or remain stuck. The second choice is to flow and adapt to the change to become unstuck. The stuck choice is motivated by fear. Perhaps the fear is of an unknown future, a desire to cling to the past, or a lack of confidence regarding our ability to handle it all. The unstuck choice on the other hand is motivated first by an acceptance of the situation, of what happened. It is also marked by a sense of calmness with an understanding that you have the ability and inner resources to deal with the crisis. It is out of that calmness with curiosity, openness, and belief that a new direction, a new course can be forged.
They say that it is darkest before the dawn and so it is with the storms of our lives. I believe that we are never given a situation that we cannot handle, and we have more ability and wisdom than we know. It is also within the storms of our lives that our greatest life purpose can be revealed to us. When Moses was a privileged Egyptian prince, he saw and felt the storm of a people in bondage. His exile from his known life, his storm, allowed him to hear the voice of his God tell him to move into his life purpose as a leader and liberator. Whatever your life purpose is, pay attention to the storms in which you may find yourself. It is those storms and the way you process them that may lead you, as well, to your greatest purpose and destiny.
The following is a passage from our book, Messages to the Heart, Reflections of Beauty and Truth. The Passage from Reflections On Transformation/Change calls on you to see a storm in your life in an empowering way.
The passage is paired with Elise Okrend’s original pastel painting, Southern Sky.
A Cycle of Change. A storm can free your desire, your calmness can free your wisdom, your actions can free your destiny.
Phil Okrend, Certified Life and Business Coach, transitioned from being an attorney, to the life of a creative entrepreneur, writer, speaker and musician. Phil is the author of the coffee table book Messages to the Heart, Reflections of Beauty and Truth which pairs his mindful poetic writings with the art of his wife, Asheville based pastel artist Elise Okrend.
www.messagestotheheart.com, www.steppingstonescoaching.com, www.eliseokrend.com