Every man, every woman, carries in heart and mind the image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true home.
Edward Abbey

I have come to realize my ideal place, my right place, my one true home, is in the eye of a storm.

For it is the storm, which has made me appreciate the calm.

It is the clouds, which have made me see clearly.

It is the rain, which has caused me to grow.

It is the odds, which have taught me to believe.

The ocean, which has made me feel vast.

The waves, which have made me feel directed.

The oars, which have made me feel purposeful.

The solitude, which has made me soulful.

The empty boat, which has made me resourceful.

Yes, I am most at home in the eye of a storm.

For, the eye of a storm has magnified and extracted from me my greatest asset.

My fight.

The eye of the storm has pounded me into the best version of myself and revealed to me who I am.

And what I value.

Life.

So, give me a rowboat and some oars.

Throw me into the ocean, far from land.

Pelt me with rain and stun me with thunder.

I will never go under.

For I’m not looking for any port in this storm.

For it is in the eye of the storm where I yearn to be.

Right here, where I am my best me.

Excerpt from “In the Eye of the Storm”