And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.
When WWII ended, my grandparents pooled their money together and eventually bought a beach house on the Jersey shore. It was there I learned about storms. I would marvel at the old whaling prints on the wall that my Grandfather collected, like the image above by Percy Dalton. Men in rough seas in nothing more than a dinghy it seemed.
I could hear the waves many nights from my bed, the North Atlantic is no joke when it comes to storms. But that little cinder block and pine house has withstood waves coming to the front door, lightning that sounded like the end for sure and its little walls shaking from hurricane force winds. Our beach cottage even survived a fierce visitor named “Sandy”. We didn’t know if it survived for two weeks. And there it was on the coast guard video on Youtube, standing among the rubble, mighty and proud. To date, four generations have enjoyed it’s simplicity of bringing us all together.
We are in the “eye” of a fierce storm now. The radar is right over us and we want it to go away. NOW. Like all of you, this past month my heart has shattered in so many pieces and I don’t know how to put it all back together. But, as I sit with this, I feel a new soft heart emerging individually and collectively. One that embraces all the healing to those that are sick, scared hurting, alone and uncertain.
That is ALL of us.
We’ve had to venture into the rough ocean storm, one we can’t even see, into a row boat from the familiar into unknown territory with nothing to hold on to but faith. When this first broke out, I felt I was drowning and began to panic. And then I thought of a storm. Of how storms always pass. Oddly, a sailing saying started coming into my mind, “all hand’s on deck”.
All hand’s on deck doesn’t mean you have to go out and save the world. It simply means you have to save yourself. That each one of us does our part to stay healthy, inspired and help others where we can. That we accept there is no “going back”. To use this time to connect with our future selves. With clear intention, with better health and with more love for each other than ever.
I wish to God this never happened. But my greatest fear is regret. That we will let these moments of our one and only precious life pass without using this time to see our lives more clearly and enjoy our loved ones more dearly. To use this time to make a creative and courageous plan for yourself. See everything in your life as leading you to this moment. What’s next? What will be the BEST of your life, not just the rest of your life? We are the ones being called to courage. We were chosen for this. YOU got this.
Because this storm WILL pass and we will walk off this lifeboat into the sunshine together. And we will be ready.
Stay well . Stay inspired. And may God bless.
Meet you on deck,
Nancy + Team Sweetbird