Any Port In A Storm

May you rest with a peaceful heart.
May you find balance and peace.
May you have compassion and equanimity
with all the events of the world.
By Jack Kornfield

by Laura Crosby
 
The old adage, “any port in a storm,” is an apt one these days, with more depth than its antiquated origin and casual use might suggest. 
 
Clearly, the 16th century sailor had better odds at any port, friend or foe, than at the hands of a merciless ocean squall. Today, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the any port idiom is “used to say that a person will use anyone or anything for comfort, help, etc., when in a bad situation.”
 
So what does it mean to take any port in a storm? Really, any port? 
 
The “storms” of life are abundant and turbulent, swirling within and around us in ways that can leave us feeling adrift in a tempest of confusion and despair. What is a real refuge when the storms rage? We actually listen for the answer in every moment – always looking for the port of inner peace. 
 
Notice that any port in a storm assumes we are aware of and accept the storm. It assumes awareness. As a sailor on the waves of life, I know that storms are part of nature and while fully appreciating their danger and difficulty, I can see the futility of battling every rain drop and thunder clap.
 
This frees me to focus attention on choosing a wise course through the storm and seeing the ports appearing on the horizon. I have agency.
 
During storms, survival depends on opening to new ways of seeing safe harbors. There is an invitation to relax, or at least suspend, assumptions about friend or foe. Rather than holding more tightly to fear and fixed views, I can open to new insights and to help from new “places.” 
 
From a place of awareness, acceptance, and openness, I can reflect and study on what ports align with my intentions? What ports nurture and heal? What ports lead to stormier days? What ports no longer serve?
 
And what of the ports within myself? Am I taking the refuge they offer? My deepest and wisest knowing. The courageous heart. Mindfulness. Compassion. Gratitude.
 
The teacher Vinny Ferraro says, “When we meet our suffering with awareness, we go from victim to student.” May we be students of the storms. May we choose the ports that cultivate our compassion and equanimity with all the events of the world. May we trust in our own goodness, wisdom, and belonging.