Weathering The Storm- Becoming The Eye

After a recent storm, I left my tent to survey the damage- the smell of wet foliage and moistened dirt filled my nostrils; a revitalizing aroma, one which I tend to savor when given the opportunity. I have been through many storms while living homeless in the woods, and, at times, they can certainly put me on edge, especially with close lightning strikes and high winds that can topple the surrounding pine- one tree, even one branch, would be enough to end my life, or cause serious bodily injury to myself and those with me, but I worry more about my wife and our two dogs than I do about my own well-being.

Stepping over a fallen tree, I noticed dozens of other quite large toppled pines which surrounded our fortified camp. They had been shoved violently to the earth, those once towering trees, now left fallen- examples of what the unpredictable power of nature can accomplish. The couple of recent hurricanes have had a devastating effect on the surrounding woods, but our camp remained untouched, even through the maelstrom; like the eye of a storm, a peace enveloped our small slice of soil, and an ethereal light enveloped the fragile polyester, protecting it from harm.

Walking along a narrow path, I hiked a few hundred feet until reaching a neighboring homeless camp, which appeared slightly cleaner after the storm, since the high winds had shoveled much of the loose garbage away from their tents. I like to check on them, especially after a strong storm, just to be certain no trees or branches fell on them, I mean, who else is going to do this? However, every time I do check on them, a tragic thought does cross my mind, that I could be approaching a corpse, not only a body damaged by a storm of nature, but a lifeless body that had given up due to a hard life, or a body that had collapsed after a final prick of the needle, delivering that last deadly surge of meth into the bloodstream.

Yet, something recently occurred to me, that people can become just like a violent storm, and once reaching the level of a hurricane (which many homeless people do), they topple all that is in their path, and destroy the lives of those just attempting to intervene and bring a little solace. When my wife and I had fled from a recent hurricane, we took refuge within a hotel, which was packed full of people fleeing the storm as well, many of whom were from Florida. Watching all the people who had chosen to run for their lives, I realized that when dealing with people who become a storm (like many homeless people) others immediately flee when they see the human storm approaching, not wanting any part of the problem, for they know that if they attempt to weather that psychological storm, some sort of negative damage is most likely to occur. There is truth to this, but what can be done with these violent human hurricanes that wreak so much havoc, and rip apart relationships?

It appears that the most dangerous winds of a hurricane occur inside the eye wall, but the eye remains eerily calm, since the strong surface winds that converge towards the center never reach the eye . . . so then, I will become the eye; I will be the calm. I will continue, intrepid and determined, traversing a world that surrounds me with storms, both human and natural, and I will be the peace in the midst of the chaos- this is my choice.

Though my homeless brothers and sisters wreak havoc upon themselves, and are carried away with the powerful winds of addiction and depravity, I will not enter their storm, but approach them as the eye of the storm. Yes, I will be that great calm, so instead of me entering their outer wall of devastation, I will engage them with peace and positive energy, bringing with me a little encouragement and hope.

Storms, in this world, are certainly unavoidable, and I could very well choose to flee from them, to hide- but instead, I will choose to endure, to overcome, and when the raging storms pass, which they eventually will . . . I will continue to press on.