My husband and I were into the second day of a weeklong road trip when we encountered an ominous summer storm. As lightning flashed and thunder boomed, I cowered further down in my seat and fearfully asked whether it would be wiser for us to pull over and wait out the bad weather.
“No,” my husband Gerry calmly replied. “The way out of this storm is to go through it.”
This terrified me, yet as we carefully drove on it wasn’t long before the sky began to lighten and the sun’s comforting rays once again streamed through the clouds.
Going through the storm kept us from becoming stranded. It enabled us to stay the course and arrive at our destination.
Gerry didn’t know that day that he had loosely quoted a line from an inspiring poem from Robert Frost entitled “A Servant to Servants,” which reads, “The best way out is always through!” Regardless of how it was said, the powerful meaning wasn’t lost on me.
This wise adage is one I now practice in my daily life. Growing up with deep insecurities and anxieties, including a fear of storms, led me to avoid challenges as an adult. I always retreated, denying the need for change and hiding whenever the slightest rumble could be heard on the horizon. This left me emotionally stuck and prevented me from attaining my personal dreams and goals.
I still longed to overcome obstacles and move through the tough times, though. I have been further encouraged by the words of author Hunter S. Thompson: “Who is the happier person? The one who has braved the storms of life and lived, or the one who has stayed securely on the shore and merely existed?”
I wanted to bravely live and not merely exist, so I learned to walk through conflicts—and I finally began crossing some finish lines.
Storms in nature occur when disparate elements collide, and the same is true for us when we’re confronted with overwhelming and conflicting issues. Storms are an inevitable part of life, but they need not hold us back nor keep us stuck. As we grow in our belief that the best way out is always through, we will confront our storms and bravely walk toward the light.
