Storms are not always sent to stop you.
Sometimes they are there to teach you how to steer.
The wind did not get weaker.
YOU got stronger.
Learning how to navigate through the storms of life is a very good idea.
We are motion machines equipped with intelligence and designed with above-average capabilities…
debatable at times, I know.
LOL.
Wherever we go…
there we are.
And we are designed to supervise, maintain, direct, adjust and prevail no matter what is thrown our way.
That does not mean the journey will always be easy.
It means we were built to participate in it.
ADVERSITY BUILDS US UP
“Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.”
— Pearls for the Soul, PFS 6.14
That says a lot.
A tree that never meets resistance never develops the same strength as one that has spent years standing in the wind.
Human beings are not so different.
Resistance can strengthen.
Difficulty can deepen.
Pressure can expose weaknesses that were hiding comfortably underneath easier circumstances.
That is not always pleasant.
But it can be useful.
THE CAPE HORN
Many sailors earned a kind of christening when crossing Cape Horn back when Britain ruled the seas.
The route was famous for brutal weather, violent seas and dangerous winds.
But making the passage could save enormous time compared with longer alternatives.
The trade?
You wanted the shortcut?
Fine.
Then prepare to pay for it with a serious test.
That trip could put salt on your bones.
It became a rite of passage because the sailor who came through it was not quite the same sailor who entered.
Experience had entered the bloodstream.
COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PROCESS
Problems while journeying here on Earth are normal.
Nobody likes hearing that when the storm is blowing.
But there it is.
Problems challenge us.
They expose us.
They force decisions.
They demand adjustment.
Ignoring them does not automatically make them disappear.
Sometimes avoiding them simply gives them more time to grow.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
The goal is not to become better at complaining about the storm.
The goal is to become better at navigating it.
WE MUST BECOME GREATER…NOT THEM
That is the real issue.
The storm may be strong.
Fine.
Become stronger.
The problem may be complicated.
Become clearer.
The resistance may increase.
Increase your skill.
You do not control every storm.
But you can improve the navigator.
GETTING IN THE BULL RING
If you want to take on bulls…
you have to get into the bull ring.
There, you will learn things no book can teach.
Timing.
Position.
Courage.
Awareness.
Movement.
Judgment.
And yes…
you may take a beating.
Experience is sometimes expensive.
But after a while, something changes.
You stop talking about bulls from a distance.
You have stories.
You have scars.
You have knowledge.
You have experience.
And at some point…
you become the BULL FIGHTER.
THE MATADOR
After learning in the ring…
then repeating…
then refining…
you reach another level.
The mean bulls do not MEAN what they once did.
Notice that.
The bulls did not necessarily become weaker.
YOU became stronger.
That is the transformation.
The problem that once terrified you may later become something you know how to handle.
Not because life changed…
because YOU did.
That is how the MATADOR appears.
LIFE IS NO DIFFERENT
“Adversity is never pleasant, but sometimes it’s possible to learn lessons from it that can be learned in no other way.”
— Pearls for the Soul, PFS 5.2
That is the point.
Some lessons only arrive through experience.
You can read about courage.
Then comes the moment when courage is required.
You can read about patience.
Then comes the delay.
You can read about perseverance.
Then comes the obstacle.
You can read about faith.
Then comes the storm.
The lesson becomes real when life places it in your hands.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
Do not ask every storm to leave before asking what it came to teach.
Another:
The wind does not always have to be your enemy.
Learn how to use it.
And one more:
The storm may remain dangerous…
but you do not have to remain inexperienced.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From Pearls for the Soul:
“Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.”
And:
“Adversity is never pleasant, but sometimes it’s possible to learn lessons from it that can be learned in no other way.”
Those two Pearls belong together.
One explains the strengthening.
The other explains the lesson.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Adversity can build resilience when we engage with it rather than automatically retreat from it.
Difficult situations often develop judgment, patience, skill, confidence and adaptability.
The important distinction is this:
pain alone does not guarantee growth.
Growth comes when we examine the experience, learn from it and carry the lesson forward.
Storms provide the conditions.
We still have to learn how to sail.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with PROBLEM SOLVING…SLAY THE DRAGON NOT THE PEOPLE.
The dragon did not disappear because we complained.
We learned to approach it.
It also connects with THE LEARNING CURVE.
Experience turns fear into familiarity and familiarity into skill.
And GOING AND GETTING PAST THE QUITTING STAGE reminds us that many transformations occur just beyond the point where we first wanted to stop.
FINAL SAY
Storms will come.
Some small.
Some large.
Some expected.
Some arriving out of a perfectly clear sky.
You cannot spend your life demanding calm water.
Learn to sail.
Learn to steer.
Learn to adjust.
Learn when to move.
Learn when to hold.
Learn when to turn.
And when the wind starts howling…
remember the timber.
Remember Cape Horn.
Remember the bull ring.
The challenge did not always become smaller.
YOU became larger.
That is the navigator.
That is the matador.
That is the person who has been tested by life and can finally say:
I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.
Tally Ho.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you