Bending with the Hurricanes of Life

Sometimes life can feel like an emotional hurricane with everything blowing around us. It can feel as though we will topple over and be destroyed by the strong winds of life’s turmoil. We feel like we’re in an hurricane or a tornado when life is blowing all over the place. Whether we are going through a divorce or we’ve lost a job, it’s easy to get stuck in a strong wind of emotion.

On a global scale, humanity faces famine, war and poverty. Whether it’s on a personal level or a global level, it can be overwhelming facing the hurricanes of life. We may ask ourselves, can we survive a hurricane and come out strong and healthy. 

You may notice that the strong trees that defy the winds often fall when the winds grow too strong. The plants that are upright and stiff fall down. But the palm trees are able to bend with the wind and stand upright the next day. 

This metaphor of bending with the strong winds instead of fighting them can apply to the hurricanes of life. How do we navigate life when the strong winds come? There are two parts to surviving the hurricanes of life: 

Part 1: We can bend when the strong winds come. When we stand up straight, we’re fighting the winds.

For example, we can work very hard at a company, put in our time, and feel we’ve been a good employee. If the company lets us go, it might not seem fair just like it might not seem fair when a hurricane is coming. Losing our job feels like the strong winds are coming. When we fight the winds too hard, we break just as the trees break when they don’t bend.

We know people who didn’t bend when they lost a job. Perhaps they turned to alcohol or gave up – they broke. They never got over it. But we also know others who bend. Maybe they don’t get over it right away, but they eventually move on.

As another example, we may get married, buy a house, and live our dream. But then our spouse asks for a divorce, or our spouse dies. Some people stay angry or stay depressed. They never get over it. Others meet new people and create a new life. They bend. 

We can bend or we can break. We can’t stop the winds. So many things are out of our control. What are we in control of? If we’re like a stick, we’re going to break. When the strong wind comes, are we going to fight it?

Part 2: When the winds are over, we can stand up straight again and enjoy the sunshine all around us.

Let’s take it another step further - when a hurricane comes, enjoy the bending. Enjoy going through the hurricane. We have a smile on our heart during the hurricane. This is possible. Every hurricane can turn into something beautiful if we don’t lose hope.  

We can ask ourselves questions:

How do I turn this into something beautiful? What can I do to make this work for me and make it better? We can tell ourselves I didn’t see that coming, but I’m going to do this. I’ll take six months off and travel. I’m going to learn a new skill. I’m going to visit my family. We can be miserable. Lots of people choose that. Other people choose something else. In the bending, find joy. Bounce back and return to who we are. 

A tree has a specific look to it. When a strong wind comes, the tree is going to break.

When we’re stiff like a stick, we tell ourselves this isn’t right. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to go. Then, we break. We see this in others. They lose their job. They get a divorce. We can be these people, and really make it our focus. The bending and the bouncing back comes from a flexibility.

We can’t stop the force of a hurricane. Sometimes everyone around us is going through a hard time. We can be like the palm trees and the grass and bend and bounce back. We can tell ourselves I’m going to make this work no matter what. We can remind ourselves this is a very strong time I’m going through. I’m going to bend. And I’m going to bounce back.

For example, if we’re in the hospital, we can enjoy friends visiting. We can enjoy the flowers people send. We can tell ourselves I’m going to give 100% of my attention to this situation.

Even when the hurricanes come, we’re going to bend, and we’re going to enjoy the bending. Life is good – this is a choice. This is an active choice. 

We can tell ourselves I’m going to flow with life, not with the crowds. There’s always beauty even during the hurricane. Believe there’s always hope. Work on your belief every day. Sometimes, we can be with that beauty even if it’s only one breath at a time.