Every Storm Runs Out of Rain
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
In recent weeks I’ve been sharing sentences that are effective in my life to shut down unconscious, unhelpful, negative thought loops in my brain. Another one of those sentences is, “Every storm runs out of rain.”
This Maya Angelou quote has helped me numerous times when I’ve been stuck in a situation with no control and that may drag on for a long time. I have a young son, and there are times when we’re trying to teach him to do something new/developmentally appropriate, and he doesn’t always catch on quickly. When I feel discouraged and start thinking thoughts that this lesson is never going to sink in, I think, “Every storm runs out of rain,” and I remind myself that at some point he’ll get it.
I most often am helped by this sentence when something goes wrong in an airport. Changes in plans in airports are so crazy-making. I recently went on a trip to Aruba, and the plane had to be diverted mid-flight to Jamaica due to a suspected issue with the plane. We safely landed in Jamaica, but we had to wait about 10 hours for a rescue flight from New Jersey to bring us a new plane to get us to Aruba. A younger version of myself would have allowed her brain to stew in the inconvenience of sitting in an uncomfortable airport for that many hours. But my older self thought, “Every storm runs out of rain.” I knew that no matter how long I had to sit in that airport that me being crabby about it wouldn’t make the time go faster. I reminded myself that at some point, we would get on another flight and reach Aruba. All I had to do in the meantime was to keep myself occupied. A few audiobooks and naps later, we were on our rescue flight and on our way again.
As I sit here writing this post today, I don’t have any immediate problems that I need to deal with. Which means every issue in my life that I have ever freaked out about (both large and small) ended at some point. Every storm runs out of rain. In the midst of hard times, reminding myself that those hard times will end helps to shut off the valve of constant worry. May it be so in your life as well.
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Calmly Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team