This is heavy tornado time in the land known as tornado alley. Such sadness south of us at Joplin. Amazingly enough, some people will be strengthened by the tornadoes. The will find a way through even mega-trauma, to tap inner resources they have never had to muster before and literally end up giving thanks for the calamity that hit them because it made them somehow bigger or better. They will enlarge themselves through the challenge. ( see Stumbling on Happiness, Dan Gilbert)
[A side note: If you are a weather nerd, the expanse of plains without mountains in the US is unique in the world. It allows the cold air from the north and hot moist air from the gulf to clash in enormous quantities over the Midwest. For many years I have done leadership work with the National Weather Service, which has a big training center near our home. In the halls of the center are awesome pictures of weather of all kinds, and a map of the worst tornado frequency areas in the country. They don’t call my part of Missouri tornado alley for nothing, and Toto’s flight with Dorothy to OZ started right across the Missouri river from us in Kansas.]
It is well known what trauma does to humans. Some will grow, some will be unchanged and return to normal, and some will be weakened, even broken. These latter are the ones whose coping mechanisms are not up to the task, and who end up worse off. They actually shrink in some ways. This is one of the tragedies of life. It is a mystery as well. Why is a blow, like a tornado that takes away life as they knew it, a growth stimulus for some, and for others it is a trauma that may do permanent damage.
The good news is that most of us are skilled at making ourselves happy no matter what happens. People lose jobs, friends, parents, spouses, kids, homes, health and still find meaning and purpose. And that seems to be the difference. When we make meaning out of our world and its events, we create, maybe we surrender to, a story into which we can fit. If we can’t see or feel the story, then all bets are off for growth and enduring happiness.
Blessings to all you souls who have had to endure floods and tornados this too atmospherically active spring. May the words of Emerson help you make the most sense out of this mystery.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
A grinding, mile-wide, multi-vortex F5 tornado is behind us. You have a hidden F6 power, maybe an F7 or F8, residing within. The scale of this inner tornado’s spiritual and regenerative power has yet to be measured.
Image above 
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