Volcanoes, Earthquakes and More: Nature’s Life Lessons
My family and I went to Hawaii for winter break this year. We were surrounded by the power of nature, causing me to think about how such natural wonders can be a mirror into our own lives.
Volcano
A couple of weeks before our trip, a volcano that had not erupted for 38 years suddenly became active. The Hawaiians were thrilled as they see the eruption is a sacred event. The islands of Hawaii were created through volcanic explosions. After an eruption, the lava cools and creates more land. To Hawaiians, volcanoes are creators. For me, as an outsider, the volcano symbolizes danger and feels scary. To Hawaiians, the eruptions are necessary and profound. Eruptions create fresh new land to explore. Perhaps both can be true. Big and scary things can be accompanied by growth and opportunity.
Have you experienced an eruption in your life recently? Something big and scary?
How can you find the growth and opportunity in the fresh new ground that has been created?
Let’s work together to find the opportunities on the other side of a groundbreaking event.
Earthquake
On our way to Hawaii, a 6.5 earthquake rocked San Francisco. Plate tectonics shifting even a small amount can have such a profound impact on our life. How have shifting tectonics affected your life?
Have some smaller, seemingly inconsequential shifts rocked your world?
How do these shifts allow for a reawakening, some tweaking, and rebuilding from the rubble?
How can you better fortify yourself for future shifts so they don’t rattle you?
Let’s work together on any shifts that have taken place in your life.
Blizzard
While we were in Hawaii, we were reading about the Winter Storm warnings across the US. While most holiday songs extol a white Christmas, there are consequences to all that snow. As the snow is falling, it is beautiful and everything is covered in white, but over time the snow becomes an obstacle and a nuisance. We need to shovel our cars out, the snow becomes brown and dirty, and driving becomes challenging as we squeeze two way traffic between piles of shoveled snow. The aftermath of extensive snow temporarily adds considerable stress to our daily lives.
There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Have we said “yes” to too many great options only to feel overwhelmed, frazzled and pulled in too many directions?
How can we clean up the mess we made?
How can we prioritize when to say yes and when to say no?
What are our limits? Where do we need to create boundaries?
Just like some places are only equipped to handle an inch of snow, while other areas can handle 10 inches of snow with aplomb, people also have different internal and external capacities depending on our make-up as well as our season of life .
Are you dealing with the consequences of too much? If so, we can work together to renegotiate your calendar of obligations, identify your priorities and reconfigure your schedule based on those and set up boundaries when needed.
Anticipated Turbulence
During both flights we took to Hawaii, pilots warned of turbulence. With three hours left in the second flight, we were warned that it may be bumpy the rest of the flight. I braced myself and hoped for the best. In the end, we had about 15 minutes of turbulence. All that worrying for nothing.
Are you anticipating some turbulence in your life? Is there something scary, hard, or emotional on the horizon? How can you stay calm during this time of worry? How can you consider alternate scenarios that are less problematic. Are there things you can do to prepare?
How can we work together to smooth out the bumps and handle the anticipation gently, calmly and bravely?
Life can be unpredictable and throw curve balls. Please reach out to me if you would like to figure out together how to approach these challenging times with support.
Photo by Izabela Kraus on Unsplash
