We have to learn the art of breathing in and out, stopping our activities, and calming our emotions. We have to learn to become solid and stable like an oak tree, and not be blown from side to side by the storm.
We have heard it said, “Beware the calm before the storm.” But it is not the calm *before* the storm that concerns us; it is recognizing the storm is approaching, it is already upon us and all around us, which is “awareness”, and then looking inward upon the stillness of the soul, which is “mindfulness”. We realize we are at the center of the storm, but not controlled by it, nor blown over and destroyed by it. Our concern has shifted from one of fear and anxiety over the approaching storm, to that of finding “the calm *within* the storm”, which is inner strength and peace. The action of the storm does not change, nor do we deny its raging force. On the contrary, we stand at the center of it and revel in its transforming power and beauty as it passes through us. Thus we are transformed by the storm. Things do not get better by chance or through luck; things get better through change. We are made better for having endured the changes incurred in the outcome from the storm.
