Every cloud has a silver lining, and trying to find that "it's all good," message in Hurricane Sandy is surely hard to see at first. I have come up with ten positive things to meditate on, as we collectively ride out this storm.
1) See it as a lesson in living in the now. After you have done your storm preparation, ie. buying the flashlights, putting away the outdoor things, etc., then see if you can learn to relax while you wait, and not "what if this happens," or "what if that happens," for forty-eight hours, until you have driven yourself and everyone else mad.
2) This gives us a time to be in gratitude for all the things we so easily take for granted: electricity, our electronic devices, and our everyday gadgets that entertain and sustain us.
3) It can make us think twice before we complain about every little thing that goes wrong during an average day.
4) If the lights go out and you can't watch television and sit in front of the computer all night, this is an ideal time to talk with family members, play board games or cards, and just do simple, fun things together.
5) Control freaks really have a hard time with hurricanes and other natural or unnatural disasters. All of us can use this time to reflect on the fact that we are never really in control of anything. That life itself is an exercise in hope, faith, and believing that somehow, some way, it will all turn out OK.
6) It forces all of us to slow down and stay put. Anxiety can run high as we find ourselves worrying ourselves sick. What we could all choose to do is: get a little rest, perhaps take a nap, or sleep a little later, and recharge our own batteries, so that we are ready to face whatever we must face as the storm takes its toll.
7) It gives us a moment to chat with God. To ask that God watch over us and those we love. We may find ourselves saying a few extra prayers, or praying for the first time in a long time. This is a good thing, since God loves to hear from us. It could also teach us to talk to God, even when things are going great.
8) It gives us time to stop with all the "me, myself, and I" worries, and think of others. We become a little more connected with all of humanity, when we are all stuck in the same boat.
9) It's a time to give thanks to the many hardworking people who will be on call round the clock as they try to get things back to normal.
10) This is your moment to let go and let God.
