Chillin With The Storms

The sky begins to turn dark and thunder can be heard in the distance. A light breeze breaks the stagnant air and begins to rustle the still leaves. The air temperature drops a bit as the sound of thunder moves even closer. The wind picks up with sharp gusts that whip the limbs of our maple tree. A flash of lightening signals that it's time to count as I wait and listen for the thunder to follow. "One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four...", BOOM! "That lightening was about a half mile away." I stand and watch the forming clouds as they can tell a lot about a storm in daylight. The clouds color, movement and shapes reveal the potential intensity and characteristics of the storm. Drops of rain begin to fall to the ground. Big, fat raindrops begin to pepper the leaves and pound the tin on my barn. The gusty wind intensifies and the rain begins to fall to the ground in sheets that are blown by the swirling winds. I watch for rotation in the winds which can be dangerous, but most of the time are not. Lightening and the crack of thunder are almost simultaneous signaling that the storm is directly on me. The winds gust violently as loose debris is tossed around. Suddenly the wind begins to calm a bit and the rain begins to fall straight down. The storm turns to a gentle rain.

Scott enjoying the rain

I've enjoyed watching hundreds of storms form across our beautiful continent over my lifetime. I find them fascinating and delightful. At night the lightening can sometimes treat us to beautiful light shows in the sky. When my daughter, Kayla, was a little girl she would sit in my lap and watch the storms roll in. I have such fond memories of teaching her all about the nuances of a storm while we watched the light shows in the sky. As an adult, Kayla is still fascinated with storms and enjoys them as I do. This is in stark contrast to a friend who once shared that her mother would make her and her siblings hide behind a couch during thunderstorms. She grew to be terrified of storms and even as an adult she often reached a state of panic whenever a storm rolled in. Two identical storms with two very different perspectives. Now before you blast me about the potential dangers of storms, I do understand that they can be very destructive and even take lives. I'm not suggesting to ignore the signs of tornadic weather systems and to be stupid, but I am suggesting that not every storm is life threatening and that beauty can be found in the fierceness and violence of nature. It's a reminder that this planet is going to do what it's going to do with us, or without us.

Snagging alligators in Florida

I'd also like to remind us that small children get their cues, and often phobias, from influential adults. As parents, the last thing Sherrie and I ever wanted to do was instill unmerited fears in our children. As a young child, my father instilled in me the fear of ALL snakes. It took 30 years and a focused, intentional effort for me to overcome that fear. I began picking up rat snakes with gloves. Once I was good with that I removed the gloves. Over time, I put that snake phobia behind me, but how dumb to have to go through that process; and all because my dad freaked out and mutilated in front of me every snake he ever saw. I'm not sure where that snake phobia came from for him, but it stopped with me. I wasn't passing that one down to my children. Instead, I educated them to the dangers of pit vipers and taught them to distinguish them from nonvenomous snakes. This went for storms, alligators, the ocean and every other danger our world offers. The point is that it is difficult to live the Chill Life when fear replaces quiet confidence and faith in your life. The reality is that we live in a very wild and dangerous world that offers plenty for which to be fearful, however, I've found that the more I've investigated, experimented with, and learned about, our dangerous planet the less fearful I have become of nature. I've learned a deep respect for the power and violence that can be found in wildlife and weather, but this is different from holding onto a spirit of fear.

Watching a storm over Lake Powell from our campsite

In a world fixated on absolute safety in every event and moment of life, it's healthy to recognize that guaranteed safety is unattainable, and would actually be quite boring if it were attainable. We have to sometimes take calculated risks and maybe even step out on faith. One of my favorite musical artist is Joe Bonamassa. In his song, Dust Bowl, he writes, "I don't need a helmet to get me through life". It's difficult to relax and enjoy life when we are focused on avoiding any and all dangers of this planet. Stop and take a closer look at the beauty and unbridled power that is on display in nature, and next time you see a storm marching your way pull out your lawn chair. If you see a funnel approaching run for cover, otherwise enjoy the show!