Is There Really Beauty in Every Storm?

Is there beauty in every storm?

This past weekend Wisconsin and Minnesota made national headlines because of our severe weather conditions, actually two headlines.

The first was about the magnitude of our latest snowstorm, deemed to be in the “top five” since record keeping began in the area. My little city was even mentioned on CNN where our eighteen inch snowfall and blizzard-like winds were reported on with raised eyebrows.

The second headline was about the Mall of America Field, home of the MN Vikings in Minneapolis. Cameras actually caught the three tears in the roof as they happened and recorded the “dumping” of snow onto the field that ensued. There was just too much heavy snow up there on the roof and it collapsed. Such headlines solidify the perhaps negative impression warmer parts of the nation harbor about this region.

This last snowstorm came without a lot of warning.

Usually weather people start talking excitedly about such things days in advance. This one must have been somewhat of a sleeper at first because I didn’t hear much about it until a day or so before it hit. Mother Nature perhaps wanted to remind us all of who really is in charge of such things.

While watching the snow pile up and listening to the howling winds the other day, I was reminded of the saying, “timing is everything.”

Luckily, or not so luckily if you were a student denied a snow day or a retailer hoping for holiday shoppers with bulging wallets to enter your store, this particular storm arrived on a Saturday. This allowed most people the luxury of watching the snow fall from the warmth and safety of their homes.

Such a wintery snowstorm can be a thing of beauty or a harsh frightening reality, depending on where you experience it from. 

When you get to observe such a storm from the comforts of home, it’s easier to see the beauty and bask in the serenity of it all. Not so much if you are caught out on the icy roads and cannot see more than a few feet in front of your vehicle.

From the vantage point of my comfortable, warm home, I was definitely able to see the beauty in the storm. The snowdrift sculptures created by nature’s blustery fingertips truly created sand-dune-like mounds of beauty in my own backyard. All I had to do was take the time to see them.

If you were one of the unlucky ones caught by surprise on an icy highway while trying to make your way safely home, the storm felt entirely different. But even then if you didn’t panic, you were probably alright.

Storms of nature come and go throughout the year, some more memorable than others.

Hurricane Katrina certainly holds a record for the amount of human tragedy and property devastation that is possible from such extreme storms of nature.

Thankfully, most storms are not devastating, but merely are inconveniences usually predicted days in advance.

We can prepare ourselves and at least figure out how to dress for the day. Still, even minor storms often force us to change our schedules or alter our plans for the day.

Unwelcome and unpredictable storms of life like job loss, serious accidents, demise of relationships and life-threatening illness often appear suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, creating dark clouds of their own, mind-drenching fears and harsh cold realities. These storms force us to make more significant changes; we might be faced with life-altering decisions, unwelcome financial upheaval, strained relationships and numerous other new realities. We might be forced to totally “change course.”

 I marvel at people who call cancer and other life hardships they’ve endured gifts. I wonder if these people are just “eternal optimists” about life in general, the kind of people who always see the glass as half full. I wish I could be more like them.

I keep looking, but I just can’t see certain things that way — things like cancer.

Life storms like cancer don’t begin or end with predictability. There is no reliable “forecast” to go by. There is no clear path out. Sometimes, there are lulls in the storm that lead us to believe we are in the clear, but then something else happens, and we are reminded of our storm’s turbulent and unpredictable path. We might even become temporarily blinded by the fogginess and uncertainty of it all and quite literally be “lost.”

Ultimately, that’s when we must rely on our own resolve, internal compass, faith and support of family, friends, medical professionals, fellow bloggers, pets and any other “navigators” we manage to muster up along the way.

Together we find our way out, or at least muddle through life’s storm.

 If you’re lucky you might even see some beauty somewhere along the way. I don’t know if there is beauty in every storm. The cynic in me says no, but maybe…..

Do you think there is beauty in every storm?

Or does this notion perhaps even offend you? 

During the storm

After the storm

Another post storm