The Calm Before the Storm
I’m currently in a holding pattern—waiting to hear whether the place I want will have a vacancy, watching other January rentals, preparing for my Lean Six Sigma exam, and biding my time until I reach level 50… which is in 2 weeks. It feels like the calm before big change, and I’m trying to appreciate it even as the uncertainty makes me uneasy. I know I should appreciate the time I have now as it will get pretty hectic once December hits, but it also has a little bit of an unsettling void feel to it. Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans, I guess.
The Storm
“The Storm” is how I’m choosing to encapsulate this uncertain time period. It could be a terrible storm, filled with lots of wind, a blizzard, a blinding fog, or all of the above. Or the meteorologists could get it wrong and it presents itself as much more tame than was anticipated. Who really knows for sure?
And honestly, the weather this week felt like a perfect mirror of my inner world. We actually did have a storm earlier this week. Rain, turned to freezing rain, and then snow, and lucky me had to drive through all of that on my way to work. It was super icy and I couldn’t travel more than 80 km/hr speed due to the car swaying too much on the frozen roads. It was like trying to drive on a frozen pond. It was scary but I made it in time for work as I left early. However, this made me question whether or not I should upgrade my tires to all weather tires… Yet another expense… Great…
Riding It Out
I’m trying not to get ahead of myself too much and stick to my weekend goals so I can calm the chaos. I’m also doing my best to practice self-care and breathing exercises to calm down my stress level so I don’t freak out. I’m pretty confident I will pass the probation period at work. I’m sure I will get it all figured out soon and get better at managing my time. My parents have decided to gift me the all weather tires for my birthday present, which is fantastic! (Thanks!) I will get the new tires on tomorrow—just in time for yet another winter storm to potentially hit on Sunday.
Things are starting to come together now. I’ve also got all my Christmas shopping done, almost finished wrapping all the gifts, and should have it ready tonight. It’s super rare for me to do anything Christmas-related before my birthday, but I decided to do a little shopping last Friday after work (as well as get my oil changed). As my birthday is in December, I have always felt like the two things need to be kept separate. But honestly? I was missing shopping. I love walking the malls, looking around, and all of that. I don’t really get to do that as often as I want to anymore with my crazy work schedule and living so far from a mall. The most I’ve been able to do is walk around Walmart, and that gets old real fast.
The Calm of a Storm
Who says storms are terrible anyway? Sure, some are, like hurricanes, tornadoes and typhoons. But there is a calmness to a storm. I love a good thunderstorm, and it was definitely something I missed while living on the West Coast. And who doesn’t love the scent after a fresh rainy day, or the sight of a beautiful rainbow to signal to us that it’s over.
It’s a very zen approach to take things one step at a time and to live in the now. What is the point of worrying about things not yet to come? It just causes too much stress on your mind and your body. Live in the moment. It is of course important to make plans in order to achieve a goal, but to take things slowly, not get ahead of myself, and figure it out as I go. Storms come and go, and so do these intense seasons of change. All things must pass…
Diana is a Master of Zen
Cats get it. They understand that time is really meaningless. All you need is food, fluids, a litter box, and some toys to make you happy. And plenty of sleep.
I have however noticed that she is constantly looking out the windows to see if her “boyfriend” is outside. (There’s this neighbourhood cat that roams around the whole town that our family has affectionately dubbed as “Boots” due to its white paws on a grey body). Diana always seems to be anticipating his approach around the same time usually. I think she actually worries about him if the weather changes, as when it was snowing earlier this week, she was looking for him with much more urgency. It will be difficult to move her away from him… Poor Diana!
Final Thought
I’m sure everything will magically fall into place. I know I’m not alone in feeling some anxiety about this calm before big change. I’m choosing to take things one task at a time, and send my stress up into the Universe to handle for me. Everything will be fine and will work out. I only have to believe it will and put those good thoughts out into the Universe.
What are some ways you deal with stress or anxiety? Share in the comments, I’d love to hear about it.