Swirling Tornado In-sight
for getting through the unexpected
The Story
A few years back, I moved from Washington to Tennessee with my current husband, now separated, in an attempt to start new with our married life. We had experienced a number of challenges in our relationship leading up to the wedding, but felt we were on a pretty good track. His job allowed us the opportunity to move across the country for a different experience. I had given up my conventional work in an attempt at making my music dreams a reality, also beginning my first book. The move was an adventure that we both rose up to but also got caught up in, looking for a home and new beginnings upon arrival. There was much we did not foresee, the biggest being the monumental problems we would face in a year's time. Symbolically, maybe the planet was sending us a message. Because I was definitely not ready for what we faced, on all accounts.
When we first arrived to the Great Smoky Mountains, it was necessary that we live in temporary housing as we searched for a home. We arrived in December to one of the worst winters they had seen in very a long time, with an over-abundance of snow and odd temperature inversions that provided more than challenging conditions. On one hand, it was idyllic, living far up in the mountains; but with no cell service and bad road conditions on Christmas Day even, it was far removed and very isolating. At one point, shortly after we had moved into our new home, there was even a rare earthquake.
But what really shook me were the spring tornadoes.
I remember being out at the grocery store, having storm and tornado watches pop up on my phone. My husband was off work for the day, at home with our dog, and I was out shopping for ingredients to make us a nice lunch amidst the unpredictable weather. Thankfully, I heeded the watches and headed straight home, where, all of a sudden, we were surrounded by tornado warnings waaaay too close for comfort. I was entirely unprepared, both physically (where do I go?) and mentally (tornadoes in Tennessee?). I made lunch quickly, but then turned our basement den into storm central, with phone, laptop, and tv tuned into warnings and reports. I used the cacophony to try to drown out my growing fear, feeling beyond vulnerable and caught off guard. I briefly went upstairs to witness, only to hunker back down after seeing spinning clouds above us. As the storms increased and seemed to be dropping all around us, my husband went upstairs to see again. I called him back downstairs as debris began to hit the house. For some reason, surrounded by pillows in the bathroom shower seemed like a better idea than the closet under the stairs (note to self for next time).
Thankfully for us, we only caught edges of what nearby communities sadly had rip through. This may seem like an odd visual for an in-sight, but it is for a reason. It evokes the fear of vulnerability, unknown, the unpredictable. It brings up the chaos and makes it a visceral experience. And then, when it clears, there is calm and light. It goes to show that even when you get blindsided, as would happen in my marital life less than six month after the storms, the tornado will dissipate and you will find your strength and light in the truth that you survived.
The In-sight
You’re in a tornado. I know. It caught you off guard. They always do. You run for cover. You hunker down. It sounds like a freight train now. Debris is hitting the house. You are scared. The world is tossed.
But then it subsides. It will. They always do.
Calm. Quiet. You will get through.
Variations, Tips, and Possibilities
For this visual, try whatever is relevant or works for you. If you have never been in the presence of a tornado, try something you can easily relate to - snowstorm, windstorm, sandstorm, anything that has you completely unnerved and tossed, as you are right now…then it stops. Your calm is there, just on the other side. And, then, the sun. You are there, just on the other side.
A second story involving tornadoes also works well. I was driving across the country, with my pup, through tornado alley, unknowingly during what was tornado season…and encountered a wall cloud at sunset with tornadoes popping up all around. We were on a remote part of the freeway and couldn’t go back (because there were more behind me). So we kept on, to Oklahoma City, pedal to the floor, trying to outrun what I couldn’t see in the growing dark. We got there in the nick of time, checked in to a hotel as the wind swirled around us, and hunkered down in a basket of fear. But it passed. We made it through the night. And I took myself out the next morning for the best darn waffle I had ever had.
Also try the Spiral Bound In-sight.