There have been quite a few storms! My most recent one was a relationship with a narcissist. I suspect I’m on the autism spectrum, even if I’m not, I am quite naive and believe people are good in their heart. This relationship left me broken, but now I have the chance to heal myself completely, heal the traumas from my childhood as well as the emotional abuse trauma I just experienced. So I have been blown away by this storm, but now I’m more aware that I can be hurt by people and will no longer fall for malicious people – I have learned to be content by myself, am honing my skills and passions, growing and no more can a toxic person appear in my life as a love interest. As a byproduct of learning about narcissism very thoroughly, I have noticed these people in other areas of my life! Now when someone talks down to me, I am no longer bothered by them. Their words cannot hurt me. I notice that they’re narcissists, and brush them off. All in all, I have endured so much pain in this relationship, but it made me more resilient and less naive. I hope I can still trust people in the future!
Storms in life have been many- You cannot live 72 years and not have weathered and survived some of life’s storms. The storms of the past made me stronger- a survivor in many ways. I learned that I had to trust in myself to get through whatever situation I was in. Of course; receiving support from others is a fundamental step in surviving. Without the love and support of others…perhaps we would not make it through the storms of life. My most recent storm being a huge change in my health has brought me closer to God and increased my Spiritual life. I found a lesson…I need my faith and I need to believe.
Again and again I fall into the great uncertainty of life. And again and again I gain confidence: I will survive, life will go on, I will be able to adapt to the new situation.
My storms have challenged me to the core but have made me a lot stronger. I know I need support in such challenges, my latest storm I found this website and for that I am grateful! In many ways the storms I have endured have changed me to be more humble and caring. Life is challenging and we need to try to be more compassionate towards others to help them get thru their own storms.
As a little girl, they used to frighten me. They still do. A few years ago, I went hiking a few times during some heavy rain. I’ve cried my eyes out, about everything and nothing, all while the trees were holding me up, and I’ve stood on rainy mountain tops and saw the immense beauty of the world around me and I’ve jumped into bodies of rising water to feel my body again and sang songs that help carry my heavy pain. I felt a bit lighter when I do this. I hiked in the rain this morning. It wasn’t the same, but it was different. Just like me. I’m not the same as I was before, but I’m different now. Storms are inevitable. It’s about learning to continue living on during the heavy rain fall.
“It’s about learning to continue living on during the heavy rain fall.” I like that line very much. I am going to write this one down. Thank you, Jenifer.
The storms in my life have made me appreciate life, and have made me trust myself and know that I can get through it all.
Also today I was able to volunteer at a shelter. Giving back also helps me get through my own storms.
The storms in life have made me stronger, helping me to speak my truth, stand up for others as well as myself, reach out with kindness as much as possible. I’ve been on this planet for very many years, and am grateful to continue the journey.
Like a mighty hurricane or a mid western
tornado, the storms of my life have lifted
me up and transported me somewhere
else. Leaving me to sort through the
wreckage and put my life back together.
It is through the putting back together,
that I have been able to re organize my
life and make changes. It’s only In hindsight
that I can appreciate it. At least up until now.
Change is not easy, and I am grateful for
the help of the occasional storm.
The storms of life, along with everything else, have made me who I am and helped me learn who that is. I discovered through many trials that I’m patient, that I can put my head down and keep going when I need to, that I can accept the storms of others beating against me and stay true to who I need to be, that I can support others in their own storms even while enduring my own, that I’ll come out the other side no matter what and that I’ll adapt and adjust to post-storm life.
I’ve also learned that the fierce blasts or intense heat (I’ve lived where we’ve had a couple of firestorms) seem enormous in the moment but that time will layer them over with other experiences. They’ll become sedimentary layers in the earth I’m made of and their impact will diminish. Things that seemed unbearable in the moment are long gone and I barely remember them now. I’ve kept the lesson or the transformation and set down the pain or trauma. I feel incredibly fortunate that my mind appears to work this way; I know not everyone’s does.
Without my storms I wouldn’t be who I am. Since I appreciate who I am I have to appreciate the storms that helped shape me.
The storms in life have transformed my perspective about power. As I observed storms in other people’s lives, I thought that I’d be okay if I dealt with the storms that came into my life. Then, I realized that as I faced storms, I needed my people more than ever. I need energy from love, I need motivation from love, I need a sidekick of love. The thought that I’m okay by myself needs to change. Needing help from others isn’t a sign of failure, but rather a time of gathering strength.
Yes Ngoc, as it turns out, connection
is such an important human need.
And yes, “sidekick of love”.
Sorry, but I’m definitely stealing that
from you.
😁
“A sidekick of love”–what a wonderful phrase! We draw strength from community, which enables us also to give strength to community. Your insights feel very true.
My Ngoc, we love independence. It’s commendable and the end goal to strive for. The more independent, the better. There’s only so much we can do on our own.
The storms of life have often brought me to a place of surrender, a place of willingness to trust life and myself. I share an entry from my 2020 journal.
Morning Meds Aug 10 2020 True Surrender
Good Morning, This practice was featured in Richard Rohr’s daily meditation for Aug 8 2020. It is very moving and extremely challenging to one’s ego. It is food for and of the soul.
Today’s practice from author and educator Anne Hillman invites us to contemplate how we can move toward a deeper sense of connectedness by nurturing what Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) called “the energies of Love.” Center for Action and Contemplation faculty member Cynthia Bourgeault found Hillman’s book “The Dancing Animal Woman” full of “deep feminine insights that have opened doors long closed” [1] which might be an apt description for Hildegard’s brilliant writings as well. Hillman writes:
The act of love is the surrender of self into life as it is. This is a love larger than our word “love” can contain or express. It embraces all of life and does not judge: tragedy and war, suffering and joy, creativity and destruction. Beauty. Death. The Other. Within this embrace of life as it is, lie acceptance, forgiveness, healing.
When we let go enough into the depths of our being, we are in communion with all of creation. We are center and circumference. One and many. Self and other. Without difference. We are receivers of one another. Then the mystery which surrounds and informs us is served. At depth, we discover that our aloneness and our bondedness are one. Ours is an identity with all beings. Herein lies our healing, the end of loneliness. . . .
To stay grounded I have had to find other ways to honor the paradox of our human identity. I have discovered that it is in the simplest, most minute experiences that I can begin to do that. Then, I am at home, my created self. I belong. Walking. Looking at a tree. Listening to a person, to the wind. Caressing a child. Scraping carrots in the sink. Weeping. Laughing.
Being tender. First, I learned to be tender with myself; to tend the needs of my soul. Then I began to tend the other which is also my self. If I am not tending, caring for some small portion of the living creation, how can I commune with that creation, be it the earth or a child, in any but the most sentimental way? A woman learns, in caring for an infant, that she becomes bonded. A person who tends the land or gives to another discovers the same bond. These are not moral niceties, they are part of the mystery. They are law.
In this kind of communion with life, new languages arise in our bodies: languages of awe and wonder, gratitude and a joy that is overflowing. They soften us. . . . The more gratitude or awe I feel, the more life shows forth its beauty and terror, the more my life is graced. These are the languages of being. Of being alive. This is a life lived with passion: com-passion. . . .
There we await the mystery.
[1] Cynthia Bourgeault, http://annehillman.net/endorsements/.
Anne Hillman, The Dancing Animal Woman: A Celebration of Life (Bramble Books: 1994), 213-214.
The storms of life have changed me in many ways. These storms, so many in the last 3 years, have deepened my faith in the Divine. My spiritual muscle has gotten stronger.
I have realized my own strength, my resilience, my courage. I realize the importance of flexibility & how I must go with the flow & embrace the changes these storms have brought. Resisting makes these changes much more difficult.
I have a better understanding of who I am & what I want. I am practicing self care & nurturing my soul, not others.
I have changed for the better.
My soul has grown.✨❤️
The storms of life have brought me to a better understanding of myself and that I am resilient enough to weather the next.
Nature’s storms have taught me that I am a protector and risk taker for others.
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There have been quite a few storms! My most recent one was a relationship with a narcissist. I suspect I’m on the autism spectrum, even if I’m not, I am quite naive and believe people are good in their heart. This relationship left me broken, but now I have the chance to heal myself completely, heal the traumas from my childhood as well as the emotional abuse trauma I just experienced. So I have been blown away by this storm, but now I’m more aware that I can be hurt by people and will no longer fall for malicious people – I have learned to be content by myself, am honing my skills and passions, growing and no more can a toxic person appear in my life as a love interest. As a byproduct of learning about narcissism very thoroughly, I have noticed these people in other areas of my life! Now when someone talks down to me, I am no longer bothered by them. Their words cannot hurt me. I notice that they’re narcissists, and brush them off. All in all, I have endured so much pain in this relationship, but it made me more resilient and less naive. I hope I can still trust people in the future!
Storms in life have been many- You cannot live 72 years and not have weathered and survived some of life’s storms. The storms of the past made me stronger- a survivor in many ways. I learned that I had to trust in myself to get through whatever situation I was in. Of course; receiving support from others is a fundamental step in surviving. Without the love and support of others…perhaps we would not make it through the storms of life. My most recent storm being a huge change in my health has brought me closer to God and increased my Spiritual life. I found a lesson…I need my faith and I need to believe.
Amen
Again and again I fall into the great uncertainty of life. And again and again I gain confidence: I will survive, life will go on, I will be able to adapt to the new situation.
My storms have challenged me to the core but have made me a lot stronger. I know I need support in such challenges, my latest storm I found this website and for that I am grateful! In many ways the storms I have endured have changed me to be more humble and caring. Life is challenging and we need to try to be more compassionate towards others to help them get thru their own storms.
As a little girl, they used to frighten me. They still do. A few years ago, I went hiking a few times during some heavy rain. I’ve cried my eyes out, about everything and nothing, all while the trees were holding me up, and I’ve stood on rainy mountain tops and saw the immense beauty of the world around me and I’ve jumped into bodies of rising water to feel my body again and sang songs that help carry my heavy pain. I felt a bit lighter when I do this. I hiked in the rain this morning. It wasn’t the same, but it was different. Just like me. I’m not the same as I was before, but I’m different now. Storms are inevitable. It’s about learning to continue living on during the heavy rain fall.
Beautiful description, thank you for sharing.
“It’s about learning to continue living on during the heavy rain fall.” I like that line very much. I am going to write this one down. Thank you, Jenifer.
I hope that storms have transformed me in a more sincere, empathetic, free woman.
Part of a poem by Erich Fried comes to mind.
…
…
In what do I write Your name?
In me,
and in me,
and more and more deeply
in me.
The storms in my life have made me appreciate life, and have made me trust myself and know that I can get through it all.
Also today I was able to volunteer at a shelter. Giving back also helps me get through my own storms.
The storms in life have made me stronger, helping me to speak my truth, stand up for others as well as myself, reach out with kindness as much as possible. I’ve been on this planet for very many years, and am grateful to continue the journey.
Like a mighty hurricane or a mid western
tornado, the storms of my life have lifted
me up and transported me somewhere
else. Leaving me to sort through the
wreckage and put my life back together.
It is through the putting back together,
that I have been able to re organize my
life and make changes. It’s only In hindsight
that I can appreciate it. At least up until now.
Change is not easy, and I am grateful for
the help of the occasional storm.
The storms of life, along with everything else, have made me who I am and helped me learn who that is. I discovered through many trials that I’m patient, that I can put my head down and keep going when I need to, that I can accept the storms of others beating against me and stay true to who I need to be, that I can support others in their own storms even while enduring my own, that I’ll come out the other side no matter what and that I’ll adapt and adjust to post-storm life.
I’ve also learned that the fierce blasts or intense heat (I’ve lived where we’ve had a couple of firestorms) seem enormous in the moment but that time will layer them over with other experiences. They’ll become sedimentary layers in the earth I’m made of and their impact will diminish. Things that seemed unbearable in the moment are long gone and I barely remember them now. I’ve kept the lesson or the transformation and set down the pain or trauma. I feel incredibly fortunate that my mind appears to work this way; I know not everyone’s does.
Without my storms I wouldn’t be who I am. Since I appreciate who I am I have to appreciate the storms that helped shape me.
Thank you for this, Barb.
We are if like mind and I like your
ability to describe it so well.
The storms in life have transformed my perspective about power. As I observed storms in other people’s lives, I thought that I’d be okay if I dealt with the storms that came into my life. Then, I realized that as I faced storms, I needed my people more than ever. I need energy from love, I need motivation from love, I need a sidekick of love. The thought that I’m okay by myself needs to change. Needing help from others isn’t a sign of failure, but rather a time of gathering strength.
Thank you, such an important lesson
Yes Ngoc, as it turns out, connection
is such an important human need.
And yes, “sidekick of love”.
Sorry, but I’m definitely stealing that
from you.
😁
“A sidekick of love”–what a wonderful phrase! We draw strength from community, which enables us also to give strength to community. Your insights feel very true.
My Ngoc, we love independence. It’s commendable and the end goal to strive for. The more independent, the better. There’s only so much we can do on our own.
The storms of life have often brought me to a place of surrender, a place of willingness to trust life and myself. I share an entry from my 2020 journal.
Morning Meds Aug 10 2020 True Surrender
Good Morning, This practice was featured in Richard Rohr’s daily meditation for Aug 8 2020. It is very moving and extremely challenging to one’s ego. It is food for and of the soul.
Today’s practice from author and educator Anne Hillman invites us to contemplate how we can move toward a deeper sense of connectedness by nurturing what Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) called “the energies of Love.” Center for Action and Contemplation faculty member Cynthia Bourgeault found Hillman’s book “The Dancing Animal Woman” full of “deep feminine insights that have opened doors long closed” [1] which might be an apt description for Hildegard’s brilliant writings as well. Hillman writes:
The act of love is the surrender of self into life as it is. This is a love larger than our word “love” can contain or express. It embraces all of life and does not judge: tragedy and war, suffering and joy, creativity and destruction. Beauty. Death. The Other. Within this embrace of life as it is, lie acceptance, forgiveness, healing.
When we let go enough into the depths of our being, we are in communion with all of creation. We are center and circumference. One and many. Self and other. Without difference. We are receivers of one another. Then the mystery which surrounds and informs us is served. At depth, we discover that our aloneness and our bondedness are one. Ours is an identity with all beings. Herein lies our healing, the end of loneliness. . . .
To stay grounded I have had to find other ways to honor the paradox of our human identity. I have discovered that it is in the simplest, most minute experiences that I can begin to do that. Then, I am at home, my created self. I belong. Walking. Looking at a tree. Listening to a person, to the wind. Caressing a child. Scraping carrots in the sink. Weeping. Laughing.
Being tender. First, I learned to be tender with myself; to tend the needs of my soul. Then I began to tend the other which is also my self. If I am not tending, caring for some small portion of the living creation, how can I commune with that creation, be it the earth or a child, in any but the most sentimental way? A woman learns, in caring for an infant, that she becomes bonded. A person who tends the land or gives to another discovers the same bond. These are not moral niceties, they are part of the mystery. They are law.
In this kind of communion with life, new languages arise in our bodies: languages of awe and wonder, gratitude and a joy that is overflowing. They soften us. . . . The more gratitude or awe I feel, the more life shows forth its beauty and terror, the more my life is graced. These are the languages of being. Of being alive. This is a life lived with passion: com-passion. . . .
There we await the mystery.
[1] Cynthia Bourgeault, http://annehillman.net/endorsements/.
Anne Hillman, The Dancing Animal Woman: A Celebration of Life (Bramble Books: 1994), 213-214.
Thank you for this, Carol.
Beautiful.
The storms of life have changed me in many ways. These storms, so many in the last 3 years, have deepened my faith in the Divine. My spiritual muscle has gotten stronger.
I have realized my own strength, my resilience, my courage. I realize the importance of flexibility & how I must go with the flow & embrace the changes these storms have brought. Resisting makes these changes much more difficult.
I have a better understanding of who I am & what I want. I am practicing self care & nurturing my soul, not others.
I have changed for the better.
My soul has grown.✨❤️
The storms of life have brought me to a better understanding of myself and that I am resilient enough to weather the next.
Nature’s storms have taught me that I am a protector and risk taker for others.