We’re at the beach this week. It’s lovely! Tonight the power went out during a thunderstorm. It stayed off for about an hour.
During this time, I observed that I had two options: 1) try and predict which direction the storm was going and when the power might come back on, or 2) enjoy the show. It comes down to being able to turn off that little voice inside my head that wanted to be in control.
After assuring the kids it was ok and to go back to sleep, we sat out on the veranda overlooking the ocean. A harvest moon was trying very hard to peak out from behind a storm cloud. From our forth floor balcony we had a spectacular view of the beach-front homes across the street. With every lightning strike the entire town lite up and looked more like a crisp painting that a real beach town.
It also made me think about a podcast I’d listened to on the plane ride down here for the 30 minutes that the kids didn’t actively need me to remind them to share the armrest between them. They were talking about how launching a new Internet based company is chaos. There’s a plan to it, and you try to do the right things, but by the nature of the beast, you end up making up some of it as you go.
Then tonight (prior to light’s out) we were watching a TV documentary about Pixar. Yes, they’re a powerhouse, but they had a lot of uncertain ups and downs along the way. Their best path was not always obvious. They worked hard and took risks – the classic recipe for success.
My nugget of wisdom? Don’t be so hard on yourself. No one else knows what they’re doing anyway. Keep your eye on your goal and keep working towards it, even if the path that gets you there is crooked and so dark that you can only plan 10 feet ahead of you at any time. Just keep rolling forward.
Embrace the chaos, and enjoy the storm.
