Parisian Phoenix Publishing

Last night, the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania had a magnificent thunderstorm— the kind that shook the house, flashed lots of lightning and sent pounding rain into every open window. As the cacophony abounded, I soaked in the storm (pun intended) from the safety of my bedroom.

My cats and Goffin’s cockatoo did not share my enthusiasm. They did not see beauty and conflict and hope in the booming clouds. The cockatoo, especially.

My older cat, Opie, a 14-year-old tripod who lost a leg to bone cancer six years ago, didn’t care. My buddy cat, Fog, who turns five this autumn, he curled up next to me with uneasy eyes but decided if I were cool with the chaos, so was he.

But the cockatoo, as much as I tried to reassure he, she was not convinced.

Now, apply this to life. We all have a comfort zone and a standard operating procedure. So, what happens when events don’t fall within those parameters? Even if your default is fear, do you find something or someone to comfort you like Fog did? Do you ignore it and go about your business as Opie did?

Can you find beauty and hope in the tumult, as I did?