The rain is falling, the wind is blowing, thunder rolls and the lightening slashes the sky. The storm rolls in. Fear strikes the heart, the weak grow faint.  The storm roars.  It buffets and pounds whatever is in its way.  Yet, storms are necessary, vital. Storms restore the equilibrium of the garden. Storms blow away the debris and expose the newness beneath.

Look to nature and the animals in the garden. How do they handle the storm?

Look to the grasses. They bend together in unison, allowing the wind to caress them to the ground. There is nothing more beautiful than grasses bowing to the ground.  Trees also bend in the direction of the wind; those that crash are caught and cradled by the trees around them. The earth receives their gift. Horses turn their rear to the wind. They allow the wind to flow up and over them, standing together in support for each other. Little animals and birds sit safely in the garden-waiting for the storm to pass. Storms always end- there is never a continuous storm.  And often in the aftermath of the storm, a freshness emerges: where once was destruction, new life appears.

When you are engaged in the storm, follow the teachings of nature. Lean into the storm, allow it to swirl about you until is it spent. Let it pass around you; attempts to control or overcome will not work. Tell yourself:  this too shall pass and when it has moved along its trajectory  take time to notice what  has been left behind and what is new and fresh in your life.

 Complaining has become the rule of thumb for conversation today. When we talk to someone, the conversation often turns to what is wrong with the world rather than what is right. It is easy to drum up antagonism against the weather, the economy, the government, one’s job, ones friends, ones family. Everything is fair game for complaining. Spend a day or two just listening in to others conversations- how often do you find that even a minute conversation starts and ends with a complaint. Next tune into yourself and listen to your own conversation for a day or two. How hard is it for you to remain upbeat? It seems that we are called upon to focus on what is negative rather than what is positive, almost as it there was some prize for being the most down. It is a rare phenomenon to hear a cheery up beat conversation and harder still to maintain your own virtue when it comes to going complaint free. A Complaint Free World at http://www.acomplaintfreeworld.org offers bracelets that you can wear for a 21 day challenge to help yourself become complaint free- no criticism, no gossip and no complaints. Some people need to practice silence in order to achieve even short periods of complaint free time. The garden is an excellent place to practice if you would like to try. The Garden listens in silence and carries some lifting and soothing sounds- the sounds of little birds twitter, the sounds of a squirrel chattering, the rush of water over stones. When you spend some time in the garden you store up gratitude and this is the end result of a no complaint world- a world of appreciation opens up to you. Can you imagine the world as the author of Complaint Free World imagined it- quite possibly the way the Garden was created ???