“Darkness isn’t the opposite of light, it’s the absence of light”. Beastie Boys– Check Your Head, Track #22

Today is my birthday. It was a great day. Worked out to a little Yoga Booty Ballet. Attended service at the Center for Spiritual Living, acknowledging the love in my heart and stating joy as my intention. Visited with friends. Spent time with family and my gorgeous niece - the sweet, precocious, delicious, Miss Alyssa.

I’ve come so far this year. The view from this altitude is more serene. It’s beautiful and mysterious and the colors are so much brighter. I’m stopping to smell the roses; the fresh cut spring grass, and the rain that poured down today.

It’s rained every April 2nd since I can remember. I asked my mom if it was raining the day I was born. It was. Which makes sense because I love thunderstorms. I love the connection between cleansing and washing away of the old, and generating life for the fresh and the new. It wouldn’t have been my birthday if it hadn’t rained today. We had one hell of a storm, tornado sirens and 70MPH winds too!

I love storms that move in unexpectedly and catch you off guard. That roll through quickly and passionately, shaking things up along its path. Some wax poetic about the sun coming out after the storm (which it did). Not me.

I see beauty in the storm itself. The wind knocks off dead, loose branches that don’t serve trees anymore. The rain cleans buildings and cars and animals, and provides nutrients for plants and grass. Thunder and lightening jolt us out of our safe state of ambivalence, instantly zapping us into the present moment.

Today’s storm was a lesson in surrender. Surrender to the storms that life sends your way. Don’t be afraid of the darkness and fierce, turbulent energy. The light hasn’t vanished. You just can’t see it through the clouds. Trust and have faith that the sun is still shining. Know that it’s just out of your current field of vision. Storms allow us the opportunity to get clean and clear. To strip away the access baggage.

Today, I surrender to the storm and appreciate the cleansing of my rainy-day birthday.

What will you surrender to today?

Peace & rainy day delights,
Kam