A few weeks ago, we were keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Beryl – believing she was going to pass by St. Lucia later in the day. Everyone was tracking her – Some dear friends who live there had sent me an update in the morning and from what I heard, or thought I heard, we were hours away from impact.
The sun peeped out before 8:00 a.m. that morning and one of our It’s Possible retreat participants and I took off for a short walk.
Then, just before we turned around to head back, we got caught in the most torrential downpour I have ever experienced as we super cautiously made our way down the hill toward our villa as fast as was safe to go.
We were totally soaked but returned grateful because we had made it through the suddenness of our unintended experience.
We dried off, hunkered down, and waited for word of Beryl.
Word came—while not a direct hit, we had already met the effects of Beryl while out on our walk.
What do you do when the circumstances you had been expecting actually show up before you were expecting them? After the fact, do you thrash around the miscalculation or worry, retrospectively, about what could have happened or the danger you didn’t know you were in?
When I shared this story with a friend, she said sometimes it’s better not to know you’re in the middle of a storm – at the least you avoid the fear.
But no matter how well you prepare, it is possible to step out into a project or activity and discover you aren’t ready for what actually transpires.
This is the time you reach back for your tools … you Realign with the Steps that are before you … or you Climb The Wall and muster the courage to face the raging storm.
Move through the unexpected with added attention and intention until you are on the other side of the unknown and uncertainty.
It turns out that the morning update—the one that told us we were hours away from the storm—was hours old by the time we heard it. So I leave you with these thoughts:
- When the storms of life hit, seek the best shelter or solutions that will see you through.
- It is said that water is sentient and speaks to us. As a friend recently shared “listen to the Water when it speaks”
- And, as the Latin proverb goes, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Be prepared. Be aware. Be flexible.
