It's Raining, It's Pouring

1. Sweatshirts are perfect for chilly weather.
2. Milk is necessary.
3. It's a sad day when one runs out of Tang.
4. Don't forget rain boots.

For the past few weeks, I have been volunteering at a local elementary school in their Spanish immersion program. I was placed in a classroom of 2nd and 3rd graders and boy, has it been interesting. I think I have learned Spanish more than I have taught it.

When I got to the school this morning at 8:00am, it was just starting to storm. The teacher was trying to teach the kids some new vocabulary words, but every single one of them was distracted by the approaching storm. Then suddenly, there was a thunder clap and quite a few of the kids jumped and started jabbering on about the storm. Naturally, the teacher became frustrated and told me to help her close the blinds on the windows. Her theory was, "If they can't see it, they won't think of it." The storm raged on outside and the class day continued. I left at 10:00am, which meant I had to walk to my car in the rain. I was only wearing flats for shoes and let's just say my feet became quite wet. I made it back to my dorm, but not without being drenched with water.

Some of the people around me are going through some rough times. They are not only battling their internal demons, but there seems to be a storm raging outside of them. For me, when I'm going through situations like this, I feel nearly helpless. My mind plays a mantra of "I just can't do this" - I can't handle my own demons and deal with the storm around me at the same time. Sometimes all I need is for someone to shut the blinds to the storm, calm me down, and make me focus on the task at hand: myself.

But shutting the blinds doesn't make the storm disappear - it only masks it for a while so you can figure things out in yourself before running out into the storm. And if you were to ignore the outside forever, how would you know if the storm has passed and it's sunny again? How will you know if the storm did any damage and needs repair? While closing the blinds to the storm may help for a while, it is only temporary.

And when you do run out into the storm, which I highly recommend, wear rain boots. Sure, we can wait until the storm passes, but why wait when you can move forward, experience new things, learn from the rain, and have the dirt be washed off by it (ever notice how when you go through tough times, the little petty things don't seem to matter after a period of time?).

Sometimes the rain does come, but there's always a rainbow, something to be learned.

Peace!

-Nicole

In Search of a Better Metaphor

1. You KNOW it's gonna be a good day when DS plays Gaga, Evanescence, The Script, and the Goo Goo Dolls consecutively.
2. Sleep doesn't always come easy.
3. Have fun with Plato (and play-doh)
4. Breathe

Happy Friday, and happy Friday the 13th! Megan here--we're just changing it up this week.

All right, so I want you to take a moment and think about something for me. Are you, or do you know, someone you would describe as an emotional rock? Got someone in mind? Good, so do I... and I miss them a ton. The term "Emotional Rock" carries with it a specific connotation of someone very anchored and strong, able to withstand any and all instances of adversity, usually while remaining positive about everything. They essentially give the impression of oozing glue everywhere and are able to keep not only themselves, but everyone else together and united. However, there are a lot of aspects of rocks that really kind of make this an odd metaphor. For instance, rocks aren't alive, and while they change to their environment, it's definitely not quickly enough to mimic what is needed in our human experiences. Rocks don't move or adapt, or do anything under their own power. And so that leads me to the following idea.

Let's find a new metaphor. I propose trees, though... "emotional trees" makes me think of weeping willows... No, seriously, think about trees. Trees have the ability to adapt to tons of various circumstances--they influence and are influenced by the environment, they're alive, and it takes a heck of a lot to knock 'em down. People who are described as the equivalent of emotional rocks need to be able to adapt, to roll with the punches, to be swayed. Being able to adapt to conditions around us leads to our survival--the ability to adapt leads to the survival of every living thing, and since rocks aren't alive, they don't have that problem and thus, can't really serve as our best metaphor. Trees, on the other hand, take some level of control over their own lives. Have you ever seen trees grow towards a light or water source? Mmmmhmm, that's what I'm talking about.

Yep, I like the idea of using trees. I mean, it takes a lot to knock them down, they can be damaged, but they also have the ability to heal. They change and improve the environment by preventing erosion, creating oxygen, and they provide shelter for all sorts of creatures. Yep, we should all strive to be emotional trees instead of emotional rocks. Let's be honest, rocks are great, but they just lock up and sit there. Yeah, they can withstand a ton of assault, but so can trees... and we need something a little more complex, metaphorically speaking. (Plus trees have sap which is really... gluey. It helps things stick together right?)

Strength doesn't come always from hunkering down and putting up walls, it comes from adapting to your circumstances, from influencing what's around you and letting it influence you.

Have an excellent day, you emotional tree you. Watch out for those pesky woodpeckers.

-Megan