Stormy Weather!

For a summer's day we have had a range of weather with early cloud then sunshine then a thunderstorm and rain finally followed by sunshine and blue skies. It has been quite unsettled like this for the last few days with some strong winds that have blown our neighbour's trees down and inclement weather with cloudy skies interspersed with bouts of very hot sunshine.

Today I watched the clouds building up in the distance when I was out and about and it was good when it finally reached us and started raining. Lovely straight-down summer rain with big fat drops! It culminated in a thunderstorm as we were sitting eating tea and I loved it! It felt like all of the energy that had been building over the last few days finally reached a pinnacle, danced and raged across the sky then dissipated and cleared to blue skies again. I even spotted a rainbow as the storm clouds moved past.

Living in the country we have a lot of trees on our property and in the strong winds they can be quite noisy. I must admit in the last few years I have become a bit wary of the wind after having the noise and movement of the earthquakes our district experienced 10 years ago then a ferocious storm several years ago that kept us awake and blew down many trees in the district - some uprooted completely, some twisted around on themselves as if they were as thin as matchsticks. Even though we didn't lose any this way our neighbour did and it always seems to make me feel on edge.

Today I decided to take a different approach to this stormy weather and see the strength and beauty in it. I watched the trees swaying and moving and felt the energy in the air. Admittedly it was a summer storm and the winds were not at a terrifying level but it allowed me a bit of space to not feel concerned about the wind and what it would do. By looking at it from a different angle I was able to change my experience of something that we have no control over despite it knowingly or unknowingly affecting our everyday lives. I have ended the day feeling a bit energised by the weather today and will make an effort to notice things that are occurring around me in the natural world more often. There's no cost in that!