I found the horses huddled together behind some trees. They stood with their backs to the wind, motionless, as if in a meditative trance. There was no struggle in their quiet resilience. As I approached, they turned their heads to look at me. I found myself completely awe struck by their beauty. The icy snow had collected on their manes and faces, a shroud marking the struggle. Yet somehow with this mask of pain they looked exquisite, majestic and brave.
A big winter storm came thru in a relentless fashion. How ironic that just the day before the winds were soft, the temperatures gentle and the air was fresh and light. I guess that's why they call it, "The calm before the storm." I awoke to howling winds that produced a icy snowfall with unrelenting temperatures. I could't help but see the analogy that lay before me. Storms mirroring life. One moment we sit in our sanctuary surrounded by strong towers of peace. Then in the next breath we find ourselves facing down the eye of the storm, slogging our way to survival. The extremes within our human existence. Somehow we always find a bluff of trees to stand behind as we hunker down and wait for the storms to pass. One thing I know for sure, the storm will pass, it will, it always leaves and the peace returns.
I believe it's instinctual for us to avoid pain, detour from storms and bypass the unpleasant. Yet it is during these times we find out what we are made of. It seems that during desperate heartbreak a warm corridor of compassion opens up to us that we otherwise may never experience. As we face our deepest fears we develop strong muscles of bravery. It is during our most vulnerable moments our greatest strengths are made known. All this beauty found while in the midst of the harshest conditions of life. It would seem a magic elixir, a truth revealer is unveiled during the struggle. The abrasive turmoil shines our dull and smooths our fragmented parts, exposing us to the light. Some people can only see the pain and suffering while others find beauty in the midst of the storm.
