Hurricane Irene is passing over North Caroline & taking
aim at New England. We’ve begun to get the leading edge rain, but the Saturday still remains fairly quiet. We’ve laid in several day’s worth of supplies, so there’s little to do but wait out the storm.
Weather has served metaphor duties as long, no doubt, as there have been humans. The violence of storms, the frozen depths of winter, the oppressive heat of summer–these and similar natural forces are frequently drawn upon to illuminate the drama of our individual and collective lives. We don’t often avail ourselves of nature’s calm and gentle side, however. Or, if we do, it’s as a contrast, as in (one of my favorite poems) Matthew Arnold’s Dover Beach:
The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
I know there are poems and stories that use tranquil, serene weather to describe the better side of the better aspects of humanity. Still, we seem pulled more towards the opposite.
One can’t help but wonder if our penchant for using harsh imagery such as doesn’t reflect the unsettled nature that seems part and parcel of modern life. If we cannot find, or if we choose not to look for, peace within our hearts, it’s not surprising that we have a hard time seeing it in the world around us.
By this time tomorrow we will have been in the middle of Irene for several hours. At the moment, though, I don’t feel concerned beyond being simply prudent. There’s nothing we can do to change Irene’s course or intensity, and short of driving to Ohio there’s little else we can do to mitigate whatever effects she might bring. What will come will come. Acceptance is not synonymous with complacency nor denial.
In this we can draw understanding from our place in the world. One can exercise good judgement and reasonably prepare for the future, but ultimately we’re pretty much along for the ride. It’s best to enjoy the calm, even in the knowledge that a storm is coming.
