A Stormy Path

 I’m looking out of the window. Trees are bending in the wind and rain is lashing down. It’s quite a storm. I’m glad that I am dry and warm inside. When a storm comes, it interrupts our current pace and direction. We might want to race out of the wind and rain to seek shelter until the worst of the weather passes. Or we could choose to continue on our path but speed up our pace, and put on a coat as protection.

We can avoid the weather at times, but it is not so easy to avoid the storms of life that come uninvited and unwanted. Yet even when something happens that is outside of our control (eg. the weather) it is still within our power to make a choice. Do I continue? Do I wait? Do I change direction?

Even if we choose to push through and continue on, it is important to pause to make good decisions about continuing. Questions we might ask are – Do I have all that I need to continue? What is the cost? What resources will I need?

These kinds of questions and more are used in a coaching context when dealing with a storm in life’s journey. Coaching can be seen as a port in a storm. It is an invitation to take stock, and assess what is needed to survive and then thrive though the storm.

When a storm comes what might happen?

Storms produce debris on the path and what we might perceive as an obstacle could be looked at from a new perspective. With fresh eyes, an obstacle may become an opportunity that we can either incorporate into our journey or the obstacle offers us a lesson that nourishes us for the next season.

Storms produce darkness and what we thought we knew becomes hidden. We become hesitant to move forward because we cannot see the way forward. In this case, we choose to either move forward with less vision/understanding of the path or we can choose to pause until there is more light. It takes considerably more energy to navigate our path when there is a storm raging, so there is much wisdom in taking time to wait for it to pass. It offers an opportunity to reaffirm our decisions to continue on or to make new ones in the face of what the storm brings up.

Storms produce strong elements that are against us and we build resilience and muscle power when we stand tall in the storm force. Our strength comes from our rootedness in whatever we draw strength from: our faith, our mindset, other people’s strength, or our experience of previous storms.

Can we avoid them somehow? We can try to move away from the storm by seeking shelter, but the storm remains impactful because it has altered our direction or caused us to stop. We cannot stop the storm, but we can mitigate the consequences of the storm. If we try to move away from the storm, we might also move away from our direction and destination. Are we willing to allow the storm to knock us off course? It all depends on how determined we were on the original path and how passionate we are to get back to it. Remaining removed from a storm may offer us safety which is important and yet we must make sure that in our safety we don’t stagnate. We may be safe but are we growing?

How can we turn the storm’s power to our advantage? How might it become a positive experience?

Pausing to seek shelter and rest offers us a chance to experience something new, something different. Growth is not all about straining on at all costs. In fact, we understand more and more in our frenetic society the consequences of drivenness which lead to burnout. Growth happens in the quiet, in the reflection and in the rest when we can tune in to listen, as well as in the walk.

 A storm may also lead us in a different direction, which after consideration and counsel, we may decide is better for us than the original path. The unexpected or unwanted elements of a storm can be used to our advantage if we are alert to our agency within the storm.

Coaching can reveal our blind spots. Walking with someone else as we navigate a storm or a hidden way allows light to be shone on areas that we are perhaps unaware of. Transformation comes when something different happens and when new questions are asked.

As I put the finishing touches to this blog, the weather has transformed. The sun is shining, it is warm and the air is still. Storms come and go. It is good to remember that when we walk into one. We stay still until it passes or we walk through it. Either way, it is now behind and better days are ahead.

Transformational Questions:

·        What storms have you experienced on your life’s journey?

·        What positive lessons have come from them?

·        What is your typical response to a storm?

·        How can this knowledge equip you for the next challenge?

If you would like to explore this further in a coaching context please contact Anna at digdeepdreambig@gmail.com