The Calm After the Storm
Yesterday, nature reminded us of her raw power. A fierce storm swept through Furudal, bringing down a tree in our backyard and plunging us into darkness for hours. In those quiet moments without electricity, without the hum of modern life, something unexpected happened: stillness arrived.
And then, this morning—this breathtaking sky.
There’s a reason Kintsugi philosophy resonates so deeply with the rhythms of nature. The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold teaches us that fractures are not flaws to hide, but stories to honor. A fallen tree, a night without power, a disrupted routine—these are not merely inconveniences. They are invitations.
Invitations to pause. To sit with what is. To discover that beauty often emerges precisely where we least expect it.
As the storm cleared and the first light touched our lake, the water became a mirror of perfect calm. The same sky that had raged hours before now offered this: soft pinks bleeding into fiery orange, reflected in glass-still waters. The pine trees that had bent and swayed stood tall again, reaching toward the emerging light.
This is the teaching that nature offers us, again and again. After every storm comes stillness. After every break comes the opportunity to mend—not to return to what was, but to become something more beautiful for having been tested.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we understand that energy must move. Stagnation creates imbalance. Sometimes, a storm is exactly what’s needed to clear away what no longer serves, to shake loose the old patterns, to make space for new growth.
Today, as we clean up branches and restore order to our little sanctuary, we do so with gratitude. Grateful for the reminder that we are not separate from nature, but part of her endless cycle of breaking and becoming. Grateful for the darkness that made this morning’s light so luminous. Grateful for the storm that delivered us to this extraordinary calm.
May your own storms, whatever form they take, lead you to mornings like this one.
With warmth from the lakeside,
Renée & Colinda
