A storm battered The Gulf on Sunday; people started scurrying around in the morning putting last minute things away even though the storm was predicted a week earlier. We ignore our gut instincts out of fear when we really should embrace them. Nature’s unpredictability, however, makes us wonder “why bother?” In the Northeast, Spring comes early teasing us with warm weather and melting snow, but then quickly pulls the rug out from under us. I remember playing baseball in May and having a snow storm blanket the outfield in the bottom of the sixth. Nature just happens, you can’t control it, but you can learn from it. Always ironic, Nature highlights your fears to guide you to safe passage.
When Devin was younger the weather fascinated and scared him simultaneously. When he was seven he knew all of the TV weather forecasters long before knowing the Orlando Magic line up. He followed ice storms in the Adirondacks, floods in Mississippi, and forest fires in Montana; he studied the weather and feared it more than ghosts on Goosebumps. A slight darkening in the sky knotted his stomach when all I saw was a sunny day. When Diane announced our relocation to Oklahoma Devin blurted out “that’s the tornado capital of the world!” We fibbed by saying Midwest City was outside the tornado belt. Spring, however, exposed our lie when Devin felt sick about going to a baseball game. We should have listened to him; by the 3rd inning lighting blew out a transformer right next to us and within an hour an F5 tornado hit Oklahoma City mowing down 2,000 homes. The tornado not only cleared out our neighborhoods, it cured Devin of weather fear; he never worried about it again after experiencing the worst. Likewise, surviving health scares makes you stronger than you ever expected.
Our greatest fears are the ones we know are coming. Those “irrational” fears are actually your instincts pointing out a future storm when to everyone else the skies are blue and the horizon clear. When I worked at Moses Ludington Hospital in high school I saw cancer patients struggling all the time and loudly hoped cancer would never happen to me. Like Devin’s weather, however, the exact opposite happened several times over in a major way. Before my first cancer bout for no real reason I sensed it approaching so I steeled my will to live not just then, but many times over. Ultimately, paying attention to my gut feelings has strengthened my resolve and molded me into a survivor. In hindsight my teenage hand wringing was my internal light house guiding me between the storms and into safe harbors. Trust your instincts more than the weather man. Slainte.
Enjoy these posts soooo much! Thanks for sharing
Mr. Pete…I never worry about weather…In fact…I think it’s silly. Who cares if it’s partly sunny or partly cloudy? Aren’t they one and the same? ⛅️ Sometimes…I wish I was a weather forecaster…because it seems like I could do no wrong. But…let’s face it…that would be the most boring job in the universe.
One of my besties and I…both mutually hate small talk…especially about weather. When we used to go out to listen to music…we would create fake conversations about snowstorms in Ohio…and try to get people sucked in to thinking we were serious about it. The more these random people would talk to us about the scare of how many inches of snow we may get…the more intense we would become. After we would have these fake convos… we had a big laugh. 😂
Seriously…Mr Pete..”and feared it more than ghosts on Goosebumps?” Okay hyperbole boy…okay. These words gave me a big belly laugh! 😂
I promise to listen to my gut more…or maybe stare at it in the mirror…(gross 👀)…for healing purposes of course.
Cheers Mr. Pete…thank you for making me think about things. 🧐
💕🪳🍀
Elisa, internal and external guts are two different things. If you listen to the external gut you’ll eat tofu and become uninteresting. Pete
Sometimes when we are given information in advance , we either don’t believe it or just plain lazy to respond !
Tom, neither action is helpful. As Dean Wormer said to Flounder in Animal House “fat drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
So is that why Diane makes faces when you mention Oklahoma! lol
My children still remember us, saying, as they were growing up “trust your gut! If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.” Great post as usual.🍀
Grace, Diane reminded me today May 3rd was the day the tornado hit. I didn’t even think about that when I wrote the post. Instincts? Pete
I have learned to always trust the gut instinct!!! Stay well!!!
Fran, that’s why little kids smell food before they eat it. If it smells bad don’t put it in there. Pete
Great timing to mark the 26th anniversary of the tornado! That event definitely curbed my irrational worry of things I cannot control and changed it to tackling problems rationally while still relying on my gut instinct.
Your message is a great reminder, Pa. I wish I could apply it to Notre Dame football…
Dillon, I didn’t even realize that today was May 3rd until your Mom told me. Instinct? Notre Dame football defies all logic and sensibility, but the mantra “don’t bet against the Irish” makes a lot of sense in more ways than one. Dad
Hi Pete, I always appreciate your insight! Thanks for sharing your wisdom and your journey!
Karen,
It was nice to hear from you; I hope you are doing well. I read your posts also and I appreciate your journey with Kevin more than ever. Slainte.
Pete