Eye of the Hurricane
Gail Pursell Elliott

  

"We must maintain great stillness of mind, even in the midst of our struggles. . . . A comparison with the sea may help us.  A tranquil sea allows the fisherman to gaze right to its depths.  No fish can hide there and escape his sight.  The stormy sea, however, becomes murky when it is agitated by the winds.  The very depths that it revealed in its placidness, the sea now hides.  The skills of the fisherman are useless."

St. Diadochus, "Treatise on Spiritual Perfection"

Hurricanes are awesome storms.  On a Doppler weather map you can see the swirling arms of wind and rain moving around the center.  If you have ever experienced a hurricane first-hand, you know of the ferocious beauty that can be so destructive.

Yet right at the center of this huge cyclone there is something that is referred to as the "eye."  In the eye of the hurricane the sun in shining, the winds are calm.  It is beautiful and still as the storm rages and circles around it.

Sometimes the events of our lives can feel as if we are caught in a hurricane.  Circumstances beyond our control, that may appear frightening or powerful, may obscure our perspective, damage what we have built, destroy our points of reference.

Yet within each of us there is a calm center that cannot be touched by anything that is around us.  It is interesting that this center calm portion of the great cyclone of a hurricane is called the "eye," for one of the qualities that staying in the eye allows is the ability to see clearly.

If we want to remain in the eye of a hurricane then we cannot stay in one place.  We have to keep moving along with the storm and allow it to rage around us until it spends itself.  We may have to move through debris, or abandon our external points of reference, leaving things that are familiar behind.

Staying in the eye does not mean that we ignore the route of the storm, but that we move along with it and choose our position.  Some of us choose to fight our way through the storm or dig in our heels and refuse to be moved, which allows the storm to overtake and hit us directly.  That is when we get caught up in the storm itself and our vision and perspective, regardless of experience or ability, may seem to fail us.

Maintaining stillness of mind in the midst of our struggles means that we remember who we truly are and do not define ourselves in terms of external circumstances.  It means making a conscious effort to not take things personally, which can cause us to attach our sense of self worth to the events of our lives.  It means keeping our inner power intact.

Most of the time we can no more control the situations that come into our lives than we can control a hurricane.  But we always can control our response, and choose our position.  We can either participate in or identify with the situation itself or maintain our stillness of mind.  We can get sucked into it, caught up, or remain true to ourselves.

This can seem a difficult task because many of us first react to the emotional content of what is happening.  Response requires thought to gain insight and the awareness to be able to reconnect with that calm center where vision is clear.

It is helpful to remember that no matter how fierce a storm can be or how much damage it leaves in its wake, it does eventually dissipate.  It is temporary.  After the storm has spun itself out, the area that was the eye remains.  What was peaceful, is still at peace.  What was still is maintained.  No matter how large or ferocious the storm, this point within is always present.  It can be the constant in our lives regardless of how outer circumstances may change.


Gail Pursell Elliott, "The Dignity and Respect Lady"; Innovations "Training With a Can-Do Attitude" PO Box 552, Roland, IA 50236  515-388-9600  www.innovations-training.com

  


 
quotations - contents - welcome page - obstacles
our current e-zine - the people behind the words - articles and excerpts
Daily Meditations, Year One - Year Two - Year Three - Year Four
     

Sign up for your free daily spiritual or general quotation
~ ~ Sign up for your free daily meditation

   

  
tm

All contents © Living Life Fully, all rights reserved.

   

HOME - contents - Daily Meditations - abundance - acceptance - achievement - action - adversity - advertising - aging - ambition
anger - anticipation - anxiety - apathy - appreciation - arrogance - art - attitude - authenticity - awakening - awareness - awe
balance - beauty - being yourself - beliefs - body - brooding - busyness - caring - celebration - challenges -
change - character
charity - children - choices - Christianity - coincidence - commitment - common sense - community - comparison - compassion
competition - complaining - compliments - compromise - confidence - conformity - conscience - contentment - control - cooperation
courage - covetousness - creativity - crisis - criticism - cruelty -  death - decisions - desire - determination - disappointment
discipline - discouragement - diversity - doubt - dreams - earth - education - ego - emotions - encouragement - enlightenment
enthusiasm - envy - eternity - ethics - example - exercise - experience - failure - faith - fame - family - fate - fathers - fault-finding
fear - feelings - finances - flowers - forgiveness - freedom - friendship - frustration - fun - the future - garden of life - gardening
generosity - gentleness - giving - goals - God - goodness - grace - gratitude - greatness - greed - grief - growing up - guilt - habit
happiness - hatred - healing - health - heart - helpfulness - home - honesty - hope - hospitality - humility - hurry - ideals - identity
idleness  - idolatry - ignorance - illusion - imagination - impatience - individuality - the inner child - inspiration - integrity - intimacy
introspection - intuition - jealousy - journey of life - joy - judgment - karma - kindness - knowledge - language - laughter - laziness
leadership - learning - letting go - life - listening - loneliness - love - lying - magic - marriage - materialism - meanness - meditation
mindfulness - miracles - mistakes - mistrust - moderation - money - mothers - motivation - music - mystery - nature - negative attitude
now - oneness - open-mindedness - opportunity - optimism - pain - parenting - passion - the past - patience - peace - perfectionism
perseverance - perspective - pessimism - play - poetry - positive thoughts - possessions - potential - poverty - power - praise
prayer
- prejudice - pride - principle - problems - progress - prosperity - purpose - reading -recreation - reflection - relationships
religion - reputation - resentment - respect - responsibility - rest - revenge - risk - role models - running - ruts - sadness - safety
seasons of life - self - self-love - self-pity - self-reliance - self-respect selfishness - serving others - shame - silence - simplicity
slowing down - smiles -solitude - sorrow - spirit - stories - strength - stress - stupidity - success - suffering - talent
the tapestry of life - teachers - thoughts - time - today - tolerance - traditions - trees - trust - truth - unfulfilled dreams - values
vanity - virtue - vulnerability - walking - war - wealth - weight issues - wisdom - women - wonder - work - worry - worship
youth - spring - summer - fall - winter - Christmas - Thanksgiving - New Year - America - Zen sayings - articles & excerpts
Native American wisdom - The Law of Attraction - obstacles to living life fully - e-zine archives - quotations contents
our most recent e-zine - Great Thinkers - the people behind the words

  

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you.  Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader).  All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another.  Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!

   

     
    

Yes, life can be mysterious and confusing--but there's much of life that's actually rather dependable and reliable.  Some principles apply to life in so many different contexts that they can truly be called universal--and learning what they are and how to approach them and use them can teach us some of the most important lessons that we've ever learned.
My doctorate is in Teaching and Learning.  I use it a lot when I teach at school, but I also do my best to apply what I've learned to the life I'm living, and to observe how others live their lives.  What makes them happy or unhappy, stressed or peaceful, selfish or generous, compassionate or arrogant?  In this book, I've done my best to pass on to you what I've learned from people in my life, writers whose works I've read, and stories that I've heard.  Perhaps these principles can be a positive part of your life, too!
Universal Principles of Living Life Fully.  Awareness of these principles can explain a lot and take much of the frustration out of the lives we lead.