The brave men and women who forecast their local viewing area's weather have quite a job on their hands. The meteorological musical chairs that climate change is causing, makes forecasting the weather a challenge, especially if a storm is approaching. The weather forecaster alerts ALL the people in the viewing area of the possibility of inclement weather, and the time to prepare is now. In these days of climate change, it is common in my area, to have three different forecasts for the same viewing area from three different outlets.
Forecasting does more than just warn people of impending trouble. It alerts them to prepare their property, their homes, pets, and families, for whatever scenarios the inclement weather may produce. Forecasting also puts our bodies on alert, as our bodies respond to what we see and hear.
Our bodies have physical reactions to everything our eyes see, skin touches, noses smell, mouths taste, and ears hear. When a weather forecaster tells you a hurricane may produce 2 to 4 inches of rain, or more, you prepare for that. When a forecaster tells you to expect wind gusts to 73 miles per hour, (how do you prepare for that, duck?), you do your best to prepare for that. But are you preparing for the emotional reaction to what your eyes see, your ears hear, your nose smells, or your skin touches?
Every human being is unique. No one is exactly the same. Even identical twins have differences, http://gap.med.miami.edu/learn-about-genetics/have-questions-about-genetics/are-identical-twins-100-genetically-identical. So when it comes to forecasting, how do you forecast to ALL people?
Some people hear, and see the reports, and panic. Maybe because they have been traumatized by a previous experience with a hurricane, or a similar storm. Kudos to other folks who seem to be born prepared, and the impending storm doesn't get in the way of their daily lives at all. While others have a "Que, Sera Sera" attitude and will be blow away with the storm if need be. And others have a little bit of all three.
Paying attention to your body while preparing for, and going through extreme, stressful weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, earthquakes, and floods, should be part of preparations. Preparing yourself mentally, will prepare yourself physically.
Being intoxicated by the unknown danger of a life threatening storm knocking on the front door is thrilling for some. Coming face to face with Mother Nature and her fury is exactly what storm chasers and hurricane hunters do .Those brave folks have taken their love of thrill seeking and turned it into a service to benefit mankind. God bless them.
In youthful days of tracking deadly hurricanes to my front door, I never cared how my emotions of thrill, danger and excitement affected my body. I was young, and had forever, right? I feel differently about those experiences now. And fortunately, I have the experience of age, the knowledge of living through many hurricanes, and the "on the job training" it takes to deal with them to fall back on. One thing these weather related adventures have taught me is my body has a shelf life. One day, it will expire, just as severe weather alerts expire.
I have hours of videos of hurricanes, usually shot while either sleep deprived, and/or adrenaline driven. In the videos, you pick up on the fear and stress of the situation. Some of the emotions in the videos range from, exhilaration (oh boy, here we go again), to fear (oh boy, here we go again), scared (please stop), and excited (I want to see more). The range of emotions are endless, and tiresome.
When Elsa made a pass by Florida, the weather scenario the forecasters thought Elsa would set up, was quite worrying. Loads, and loads of rain, on an already saturated ground, along with high winds, was sure to set up a bad prognosis for some areas in Florida. And some areas were hit worse than others.
Around the time the brunt of Elsa's strength was to pass by, I busied myself with last minute chores before the possibility of losing power. Power outages were forecasted for the viewing area, and I didn't want to sit and watch the tops of beautiful oaks, cedars, willows, and pines, thrashing about in unpredictable winds. I also didn't want my body reacting to me watching the tops of the beautiful trees thrashing about in unpredictable winds. So instead, I did everyday chores and deep cleaning.
Keeping unpredictable emotions in balance during unpredictable times, takes practice. It is hard, but only if it is labeled hard. It is scary, but only if it is labeled scary. It is a lesson when it is followed through to an outcome. It is a blessing when that lesson is realized, and passed on. Being on an unbalanced emotional roller coaster wreaks havoc on the human body. And putting humans in unpredictable situations, also wreaks havoc on the the human body. The emotional response of the senses, that gives rise to the emotional response in our bodies, is the balancing act of a lifetime. This takes practice. I tell myself always, "I have all the time I need, to do all I need to do."
https://blog.mindvalley.com/organs-and-emotions-chart/
Keeping emotions in check is only part of the solution. Faith in the unknown is another. I speak of Faith in a chapter by the same name in my book, "Tell Your Ego Stop It! Start Living Conch-sciously". Have Faith in yourself to know you are not alone, and you can handle anything the unknown playbook of life may throw your way. Faith is accepting the Great Plan. Knowing you are part of the Great Plan, and not interfering in the Great Plan, is also Faith. No matter what the forecasters say, having faith in the efforts you provided in the preparations you performed, or didn't perform depending on which side of the coin you flip, keeps you balanced.
Distracting yourself to keep the "panic self", the "not born prepared, but comfortable with the preparations self", and the "Que, Sera, Sera" self balanced is a good place to start. There is something to say about handling a situation with intelligence, and controlled balance. Faith in your Spiritual Family holds it all together. Thank them for their patience, and the unconditional love they hold for you, and all manifestations allowed the honor to be a part of the Great Plan.
As with most, "first storms of the season", supplies are in place, evacuation plans are in place, and now a test run of how to emotionally handle this hurricane season has been successfully accomplished. Each storm comes with its differences and challenges, but with practice, holding it all together emotionally and physically during extreme, weather events may make the difference between survival or not.
Carpe Diem every day, like it's hurricane day, because it is. To get you through your day, have a healthy dose of adventure and thrill upon waking. Don't get caught in the whirlwind of distractions during the day, and roll with the punches at the end of the day. All the while being grateful for life's lessons, and respecting the balance of life, and the flip side of the carpe diem coin.
Both sides of the coin honored equally, without judgement. As we should lovingly look at each other.