Soaring above the Storm

As I sit to write this, I have an excruciating headache, body ache and an itchy throat. All indications that I will most likely be spending my weekend in bed courtesy of the flu. However, if I start to pop a pill or two, I will most likely be able to stop the extent of my illness. It is really sad that when we hit speed breakers or bumps in life, we are never have any hindsight of it nor are there any ways to prevent it from hitting the most extreme of rock bottoms. For the most part, we have to endure it, live it, survive it and finally say, phew! I did it.

It's times like this I wish I was a bird. Not just any bird but an King (Queen in my case) of the birds - the Eagle. Eagles are birds who soar above the rest and views the world from above. They fly to a high cliff and wait for the winds. When they sense that a storm is approaching, it will set its wings to a certain degree which allows the stormy winds to lift it up above the storm. So as the squall below is raging with anger and hate, the eagle stays above it all. The eagle is not scared of the storm but instead chooses to use the storm to lift it higher. It rests on the winds that brings the storm and as it ends uses that very wind to bring it back to ground - high ground.

Metaphorically, "storms" come in our lives in various forms: loss of a job, the breaking of a relationship, losing a loved one, disappointment, failure, heartbreak and so on. When such an incident occurs, we have many choices. We can face the battle face on, we can go into hiding and ignore the situation or we can use that situation to learn and move on. Most of the time, we use a amalgamation of them all. Initially, we go into hibernation as we enter denial stage; then we realise that we have to deal with it and lastly, when we all is said and done, in hindsight, we look back and thank our lucky stars (or the one above) for being kind enough to get us out of a situation that could have been detrimental to us. However, wouldn't it just be easier to head straight to stage three? We eventually have to reach there, so it would probably be easier to head there in the beginning. It is not because we are afraid of stages one and two but merely because it makes no sense in bawling or upsetting ourselves over a circumstance that will eventually mend itself - this is called "Soaring above the storm." A trait from the eagles we should learn to admire and where ever possible, use to our benefit.

Photo Credit: eaglevision.com