When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
— by Rogers and Hammerstein II/Richard Rogers
Storms happen. Many are beautiful. So many of them are destructive and life-threatening. Storms have received the honor of being a metaphor for life’s troubled times. These times usually involve pain, struggle, and the inability to move forward. This paralysis can often attract depression and fear. It is easy to feel isolated and alone. Fear seems happiest when it is able to incapacitate one’s spirit. How we respond to this incapacitating fear is our destiny.
It has been said that, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” It sounds easier said than done. The truth is that it takes courage to acknowledge a personal storm and do all you can to learn about the storm’s origin. Depending on the storm, your response can be one of love or one of fear. Perhaps you have heard of fight or flight. Fight means that you are willing to face the storm head on and flight represents the act of moving as far away from the storm as possible. Most storms involve a hybrid version of storm-response tactics.
In the song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” from the musical “Carousel” by Rogers & Hammerstein, written in 1956. The song is sung in the second act by the cousin of the lead player Julie Jordan. Julie has just learned that her husband Billy Bigelow, has just died from falling on his own knife. Much to her regret, Julie then realizes she never told Billy she loved him while he was alive. This is a Category 5 Hurricane where Julie’s life is turned upside down by a life-altering experience. At this particular moment Julie is faced with such painful loss and the understanding that she never told her husband that she loved him while he was alive. The sadness will take time to recover from however her cousin helps her to cope. This coping is made much easier due to the fact that she will not have to weather the storm alone.
“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of a storm there’s a golden sky . . .” tells of a friend’s desire to lift a friend up. This happens by the lifting up of the spirit. Hope that lives in the heart is at the core of the person’s emotional power center. This power center fuels a person’s ability to eventually “dance in the rain.”