Who has seen the wind -neither you or I. Yet when the wind blows throughout the tops of the trees you see the effects visibly in the stirring of the trees. Sometimes it bends them so hard you think that they will break. Sometimes one topples but usually the wind lasts only for a while and then calm, quietness and peace return. Even the roughest storm eventually ends and the trees stand tall.
Emotions are as the winds; they rip through our interior being threatening to blow us down with their intensity. Filled with angst whether it be from anger, frustration, sadness or simply overwhelm we feel threatened and respond as if we are in grave danger-we ferociously fight back; we dissolve into tears, or we try to run away from them -we retreat to our beds and pull the covers over our heads.
Rarely do we remember that feelings are temporary nor do we examine the messages that our emotions deliver. We do not simply allow ourselves to experience them to the depths.
Although the wind can be terrifying it has a purpose. The world would not survive without winds. Our emotional states also have a purpose. They are there to inform us, an internal GPS system providing direction and guidance. We need to listen to them- what is the message that they are carrying for us? At our center is peace, quietness and calm and emotions are as simple as the waves on the ocean; as we let them roll through we discover they cannot overcome the quiet center within.
Let the winds of emotion pass over around and through. We can examine the message that the emotion brings by being open to and feeling it as deeply as we can. We can question it- what is it that you are trying to tell me? As we take from them the messages they deliver we can continue to rest in that centered place within. We are always safe there and we can always stand tall.