At various times in my totally wonderful life, hurricanes would blow in and consume me. Each time this happened, I was sent on yet another spiritual quest inward. The first part of the hurricane would devastate me. Cause me to resist, fight, try with all my might to turn back and get out of it. Then suddenly it would drop me from it’s clutches, wet, cold, and physically spent. As I’d lift my head, not believing that the wind had stopped, I’d foolishly think, “Ah, it’s over”. As I’d wobbly try to stand up and look around me, I’d discover that the wind and rain were still raging, this time all around me. After weathering numerous hurricanes throughout the years, I now know that I was standing in the eye of the storm. It was not over. I still had to weather another whole side of it as it begins to pull out to sea. The eye is not only a respite from the storm, it is a place where changes within the soul take place and a new direction is found. I think the abrupt peace the eye thrusts upon you, causes a shift of power and energy deep within. As a result of the shift, you come to know that it’s time to quiet and stop fighting to get out. Take the quiet that the eye offers, lie down and rest, dry off, regain strength, and with this strength, gain wisdom.
It was in the eye of such a hurricane my own personal mantra was formed. I liked the concept of having a mantra you can quickly grab onto in time of trouble, but up until now, I always had to borrow mantras provided by others and consequently they were never the same or consistent over the years. This meant the mantra lesson was never quite learned because when trouble struck, I couldn’t remember the last mantra and was once again adrift at sea. I’d always get a “new” mantra from somewhere after the damage was done, and while it helped heal me, it would soon leave me because it was never really my own to begin with. Time in the last eye of the storm brought my own mantra. One that, because it was born in my own soul, will remain with me forever, and will jump out unconsciously in time of strife. My mantra is: “Be a vehicle for the spirit”. Just as in the eye of the storm, lie still inside and do just that – be a vehicle for the spirit. Stop fighting. Let the spirit calm and direct my way. Realizing the storm is not yet over, I wear my mantra as a slicker and prepare to walk steadily out the other side as the hurricane passes out to sea.
And so, as another day goes by, an old song says “a little somethin’ against the wind”, and….I have written.
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