today's journal page:

Last night we had a super violent thunder storm - sirens went off three times around midnight with announcements blaring, "Severe storm warning in effect, take shelter immediately." Wow, I have never heard a public broadcast blaring out into the world like that; I asked my neighbor how often that's happened, and he said he has lived here since 1969 and he remembers it happening three times. The lightening was relentless and magnificent. I watched through our big picture window and the flashes and booming, hoping our maple tree's sturdy and strong roots could hold on. They did, and this morning there are just branches and lots of leaves to sweep up. As long as the storm does not kill us, it's power is quite amazing and beautiful to behold. Such can be our moodiness, our fear of failure, the emotional storm that often comes along with the creative way of being. Welcoming the storm is sort of a wonderful courageous thing to do. I have been working with this idea lately, accepting when emotions are difficult, letting the expression flow into my painting and collage and journaling. How fun, and how wonderful, to turn our emotional storm into something beautiful and expressive.

"The ground submits to the sky and suffers whatever comes. Tell me, is the Earth worse for giving in like that?"   --Rumi