I remember standing on the balcony of our home in western Colorado as a child. The night before, a terrible storm had rolled through the Grand Valley. When I woke and walked outside, the entire valley spread before me, crisp and clear. It was like seeing everything for the first time.
Years later, in my last semester of college, another storm pelted the campus for days. When I walked out of a building, the clouds had started to clear and the sun broke through. It was blinding in brightness. Everything felt new. At that exact moment, the campus radio DJ played Johnny Nash’s voice over the loudspeaker. “I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way.” Everyone on campus stopped and looked up. This was a moment to remember.
After a storm, the air often looks clear and crisp because the storm has temporarily cleaned and rearranged the atmosphere. Storms wash particles out of the air, blow away stale air, and often leave cooler, drier air behind. That combination makes everything look unusually clear.
So it is with life.
A storm makes the sky clear not because the storm was pleasant, but because it removed what was clouding the air. In life, troublesome times can do something similar. They shake loose things we were carrying without realizing it. False priorities. Shallow comforts. Unhealthy attachments. Pride. Fear. Distractions.
Trouble can wash away illusion and leave behind truth. It may not make life perfect, but it can make your vision clearer. You begin to see what is worth keeping, what needs healing, and what you no longer need to carry.
I have learned this the hard way. When things were going well, I carried too much. I said yes to everything. I chased things that did not matter. I convinced myself that busyness meant progress. Then something broke. A project failed. A relationship ended. A plan fell apart. And in the aftermath, when the noise settled, I could see clearly for the first time in months. I could see what actually mattered. I could see what I had been avoiding. I could see what I needed to let go.
The storm did not give me new answers. It removed the clutter that was blocking the answers I already had.
This is not about celebrating hardship. Storms are not pleasant. They are disruptive, uncomfortable, and often painful. But they do something we cannot do on our own. They force a reset. They clear the air. They make visible what was hidden by the haze of routine, comfort, or distraction.
When the storm passes, you are left with clarity. Not because you suddenly became wiser, but because the things that were clouding your vision have been washed away. You can see the path forward. You can see what needs attention. You can see what you were holding onto that was never yours to carry.
“Trouble can wash away illusion and leave behind truth.”
I am not suggesting you seek out storms. I am suggesting you pay attention when they come. When life disrupts your plans, when things fall apart, when the comfortable routine gets shaken, do not rush to rebuild everything exactly as it was. Pause. Look around. Notice what the storm cleared away. Notice what is still standing. Notice what you can see now that you could not see before.
The next time you walk out after a storm, literal or otherwise, take a moment to notice the clarity. Notice what feels different. Notice what you can see now. Then ask yourself what you want to keep in view and what you are ready to let the storm carry away.
