Thunderstorms: Creating Balance
How many people choose a career based on the advice and the good intentions of others? I grew up on a small ranch in Montana. My dad was a hard worker and skilled craftsman but often struggled to hold onto a job as a carpenter. The issue was never his talent. It was because he had a hard time not speaking his mind and following instructions. On the other hand, my grandfather (my mom’s dad) thrived as a craftsman with far less talent. He lived by the rule, if your boss asks you to shingle the floor and carpet the ceiling you do it despite the stupidity of the request. As a result, my dad spent much of his life in tension and constantly seeking employment, whereas my grandfather lived a much more peaceful life. My grandfather was a community leader well-liked by people. My dad though highly respected for his craftsmanship was often misunderstood.
I chose a career not because I liked it but because it paid well and provided for my family. The responsibly toward family out weighted the need to love me career. My dad’s advice was to learn from his mistakes keep my mouth shut and follow instructions. As a result, I spent 27 years in a successful career often torn between providing for my family and pursuing my dreams. Though the job provided a great number of opportunities for my family, created an environment for learning and paid for a far portion of my education it just wasn’t what I wanted. Much like the river tender in Not Doing the desire to reinvent myself was always on my mind. After 27 years of tensions building, a thunderstorm was brewing. Something eventually needed to go to ground. The static discharge would eventually come. My children were grown, and changes were made.
Thunderstorms can be a grand event, as well as, beneficial. A thunderstorm transfers the overabundance of an atmospheric electrical build up back to ground through lightening. Air is an insulator allowing the positive and negative electrical charges to build up between the clouds in the atmosphere and the earth. When enough power is built up a rapid discharge of electricity is released to ground. Though lightening does discharge to the ground the bright visual portion we see is actually the return lightening stroke heading back up into the sky.[1] There appears to be an exchange of energy bringing balance to a highly charged atmosphere. The thing about thunderstorms that never grows old is there is always a freshness in the air after the storm. A new sense of calmness can be felt. The discharged static buildup has created an atmospheric balance. Things seem cleaner, newer, different!
Specializing may be beneficial for some but for me it has made the reinvention of self very challenging. Specializing created in me the need to discharge static build up and go to ground. According to Not Knowing “Experts are often too invested in what they know to question what they know, or admit that they don’t know.”[2] According to D’Souza and Reiner the very act of specializing and having a deep focus in a specific area may very well be the thing that limits our perspective and prohibits our ability to see beyond our narrowed view.[3] Right now, I don’t know! That’s ok! The perspective from where I’m standing as a generalist is broad and vast. Things smell fresh, appear new and clean. The constant memory of my grandmother’s advice when I was growing up rings in my head “ Greg, God has a plan and we can trust Him.”
[1] https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/faq/
[2] Steven D’Souza and Diana Reiner, Not Knowing: The Art of Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity (New York: LID Publishing,2016), 44
[3] Steven D’Souza and Diana Reiner, 44
About the Author
Greg Reich
Entrepreneur, Visiting Adjunct Professor, Arm Chair Theologian, Leadership/Life Coach, husband, father and grandfather. Jesus follower, part time preacher! Handy man, wood carver, carpenter and master of none. Outdoor enthusiast, fly fisherman, hunter and all around gun nut.12 responses to “Thunderstorms: Creating Balance”
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Greg,
Each post you write is filled with such lived wisdom. Thank you for sharing your life experiences and lessons with us. That exchange of energy between land and sky is volatile, and at times destructive. I appreciate how you framed it as more of an equalizer. It sounds like you’ve discovered a sweet place of rest and contentment in the passing of that storm. Outside of your grandmother’s words, what other ways are you finding balance as you walk upon this unknown land?
Darcy,
Thanks for asking! Life is a daily set of choices. I am constantly reminding myself not to take life so personal. That may sound odd but this thing we call life is but just a speck of time in the eyes of eternity. I have spent a lot of time reading and rereading the wilderness account in the Old Testament. My prayer has been that God will give me a Calebs heart. Despite his willingness to enter into the promised land he was forced to wonder due to the disobedience of others. Where many would become bitter He became stronger to the point at 85 years old he requested his inheritance from Joshua. He chose a land filled with mountains and giants. Caleb had an attitude much like David’s when he fought Goliath. Where most would see Goliath as to big to kill David saw him as to big to miss. Like I alluded to in my response to your post. Much of what lies ahead of us may not change but as we journey through life our perspective does. There is a lot in life we don’t have a choice in but we do have a choice in how we respond.
Greg, I respect the wisdom you show in all of your words. I think there’s always a struggle in wanting to be specialized vs a jack of all trades because we want to be recognized for SOMETHING. We want to know that we’ve contributed in some fashion to the world around us. For many, the process of being recognized as an “expert” is that path. And yet, I wonder if at the same time if the mantle of “expert” isn’t our own so much as it’s thrust upon us by other people. When we begin to amass a following around us for what we know, the pedestal is slowly – or rapidly in some cases – built beneath our feet.
Dylan,
Thank you for your kind words. You are very insightful! We humans love to set up idles and put people on a pedestal. I also think you are correct that it is usually the voice of admiration of others that create an attitude of expertise.
The courage you demonstrate in actually purusing the shift is stunning. Thank you for modeling that.
In the illustration that you offer you allude to a static build up, a violent equalizing of the pressure (the lightening) and then, eventually, the calm after the storm. Where would you currently identify yourself in that process?
Jer,
In a world filled with a vast number of things that compete for our loyalty and time I think finding things that ground us are critical. I believe God creates in each one of us things that help us go to ground when the static build up of life happens. Some wait until the storm hits and wade through the aftermath. Others understand the process and seek grounding before the storm. Sadly, I have learned this the hard way. I have learned to frequently take the time to go to ground and release the pressures of life. Outdoor activities like fly fishing and hiking bring me wholeness. Carving or working with my hands calms my soul. Being still and alone in the darkness settles me. Right now I am at peace and calm despite the chaos around me due to taking the time and doing things that ground me and allow for a healthy discharge of anxiety.
Greg, your life trusting God, who has a plan, is an offering of encouragement and inspiration. As you write and, share of your grandmother’s encouragement to trust God, along with your stories, I see a wonderfully grand narrative of reliance upon God for ‘the way’ to walk in.
In this trust, is there humility? Not knowing: could it look like a surrender of will or a surrender of passion?
There’s a not knowing and a cooperative not doing in the posture of Jesus in Gethsemane.
Could life, as a follower of Christ, be encapsulated as a movement toward Gethsemane? Do you think there is relief in the words of Jesus, ‘nevertheless, not my will but, yours be done’?
Chris,
I do believe the releasing of our wills to God and resigning ourselves to do the will of the father is part of our faith journey. I have moment s of frustration and rebellion, resisting God’s will and striving for my own. At the end of the day God is God and I am not. It is humbling to release our expectations and dreams and place our hope and trust in God. Do you think that surrendering your will in service of others rekindles and builds your passion? Can one truly find relief apart from releasing our self reliance over to God? The whole process of salvation is releasing our lives over to Christ asking Him to take control and acknowledging our control can’t save us.
I do love a good thunderstorm. And living on the edge of west Texas, I get to see a good bit of the build up when they come. Great image!
But besides cleansing, thunderstorms can also pack a destructive punch. How do you navigate the balance between a necessary transfer of energy without throwing flaming lightning bolts, catastrophic winds, or shattering hail?
John,
Obviously thunderstorms in nature are destructive when lightening strikes. But human thunderstorms don’t always have to be destructive. In each home is installed a grounding rod which defaults power surges to ground to prevent damage. I am big proponent of creating healthy avenues that help the static discharges of life go to ground safely. Unlike nature we have the power of choice and the ability to diagnose the need for us to go to ground before our thunderstorms get out of control.
Greg, do you think higher education and Academia force too narrow of a specialization?
Shawn,
It maybe one thing to eventually go into a special field of study while maintaining a broad foundation but I wonder if specializing on one single area without keeping a broad foundation gives one a false sense of expertise. Can one really be an expert in one area without the broad foundation required to support the specialty.
Those who visit Seattle are often amazes at the space needle. It creates a quandary to see a saucer sitting 605 feet on top of three legs. What they don’t see is the 2800 yards of concrete and 250 tons of steel in the ground. It is the foundation that allows for the specialized structure on top.
What would it be like if the more specialized a person wanted to be the broader the foundational education they were required to have? How should specialization be defined? Singled focused or deep understanding?