Dancing in the rain

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s learning to dance in the rain”.

WAIT! Before you share this/dismiss this as a cheesy platitude blog post…

Thing is…that’s all very well, and we all have VERY different ‘storms’.

I’ve been ‘dancing’ through my storms for nearly twenty years.

Including a very recent hurricane that ripped though my future and left me with a devastating grief.

And I’m brilliant at bouncing back to my true, exuberant and positive self.

I’ve learnt how to be. AND…

I’ve heard a lot of ridiculous but well meaning phrases in response to my trauma over the years.*

Left me feeling very lonely at times.

That’s the problem with platitudes and well-meaning clichés.

They create a HUGE gap in connection.

(And yes, we all know they come from a good place - we always presume that).

This video is me dancing in warm, tropical rain on a beach, whilst on holiday.

It is NOT the same as getting caught unexpectedly in an icy downpour back home in the U.K whilst juggling multiple other daily dramas.

Yes, we CAN learn to cope with the icy downpours and build more resilience (you can download my resilience guide) …BUT

This does NOT begin with a dismissal of where you are or how tough it is, right now.

If you are a leader who wants to build an efficient and effective workplace, or indeed, any human wanting better connection, seeing people as humans with varying storms (when they arise), is a great start.

Because they ARE humans, and all humans have storms sometimes.

And when people feel SEEN and understood, magic happens.

At work, and everywhere.

If you want to offer an umbrella to someone in a storm, let it be this: a deep empathy…that starts where they are. And one that says:

“I won’t try to fix this, I’m simply here to listen, and hold some space”.

[[*and yes, I’ve also said things that were platitudes or might have seemed insensitive in the past, of course I have]