Rain! Freezing temperatures. Generally miserable weather. Large puddles of water everywhere. Few neighbors out. The weather degraded over several days, then the storm for several days, now slow recovery to normal weather. At least until the next storm.

I tried to keep up walking routine with Tango. We saw a few others and the conversation was limited to the oddity of freezing temps along the Gulf of Mexico.  I spent a great deal of time indoors, Didn’t even wander over to pavilion, a building with tables, coffee pots, Internet and people. I knew from the weather report that bad weather would arrive and  I relied, as always,  on my crummy weather survival kit: movies (Sulley, which is just ok), reading, cooking, routines, keeping the place neat and tidy, which right now means sweeping out sand. This time, I was incredibly lucky to have a football playoff or two.Still the gloomy weather started to affect my frame of mind. Snippets of depression, loneliness. After all, this is perfect weather for snuggling under the electric blanket with someone else. 

Now, I am drinking coffee and looking out my huge back window at the trees that shield my view of the ocean Recovery is starting. Blue sky. A downy woodpecker hangs out on the snag behind me. Blue Jays make a racket. The Carolina Wren sings endlessly. It won’t be long before Tango and I hit the beach or bird sanctuary for a long walk.

Isn’t this a metaphor for life, played out with regularity? Cloudy times, followed by warming sunshine. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get an emotional weather report? Rainy times ahead! Would it make a difference? Would we get out the gloomy attitude survival kit? Would we even have one?

Maturation seems to include sharpening our resilience. Children are naturally resilient but adults tend to become bogged down during the right and left turns in life.  We hide, we resist, we deny. But we can also learn to manage and thrive.

World religious teachings, despite their use as tools of control, really exist to help us thrive by teaching behaviors and though patterns that take us back into the sunshine. Express gratitude everyday. Intentionally choose your thoughts, keeping negatives ones away. Practice forgiveness, seek wisdom outside of self, give back, find beauty in the world, take care of yourself. These are core teachings throughout the world. World religions also teach us to appreciate nature, which for me, is the most important in terms of thriving.

It is still winter, we will have more storms. Summer will bring storms of its own. This year, next year, and the next. If you have not created a life-storm survival kit, you can start at anytime! Just don’t stash it away in the car and forget to use it!