The Winds of Change

The past 24 hours in Seattle has seen some interesting weather.  As I was lying in bed last night listening to the wind storming outside, I was thinking of how much I love the wind - how exhilarating a good, strong wind feels to me. I also started thinking about how wind is not always a positive thing: hurricanes and tornadoes can be extremely destructive.  I realized that wind can be a metaphor for change (and given that the title of this posting is a very old saying, I'm obviously not the first to come up with that).

The same traits that make wind exciting rather than fear provoking can be true for change, as well.  First is our attitude.  If we view the change as something we enjoy, even revel in, we are more likely to be excited and exhilarated by it.  Similarly, the more flexible we are, the more we can "bend in the wind," the more able we are to withstand a change that may end up being a little more impactful than we expected.

When we see a tornado looming on the horizon, however, we become fearful.  This can be a change that is something we don't want, or feels too big for us to handle. Fear can make us rigid, which makes it more difficult to "bend in the wind."  We may feel that this storm will destroy us, and we can become anxious and/or depressed.

The key to weathering the hurricanes and tornadoes is preparation.  Just as homeowners board up their windows when a hurricane is forecast, or build their home with a storm cellar if they live in tornado prone areas, we can shore up our internal homes and make it more likely for them to withstand the onslaught of a hurricane or tornado.

Hurricanes and tornadoes are unpredictable.  We never know for sure when one may come our way, we only know that in each our lives it is likely there will be times when they do.  Working on your emotional flexibility and stamina prior to the event can help us weather the storm when it arrives.