My sister and I were driving on our way home from dinner when the weather shifted. The once bright, beautiful blue sky was taken over by a dark, dreary thunderstorm. The sudden change seemed fitting, considering I was already in a bad mood. Between school, friends, sports, and the never-ending nagging of my parents, I was stressed, frustrated, and a tad bit angry. A relentless onslaught of negative thoughts were coursing through my pessimistic mind. We were sitting at a red light, and I was so engulfed in my self-wallowing that I almost didn’t see the rabbit sitting on the grass outside. At first, I glanced right over the rabbit, but then it registered in my head. Barely five feet from the car, there was a rabbit munching on grass. I marveled at how the rabbit could be so serene in the midst of a raging storm. I gaped at the rabbit’s nonchalant demeanor despite the disaster that continues on. I wondered how the rabbit could so easily ignore the crackling lightning and the rumbling thunder. I pondered how it could be so tranquil in the pelting rain. Then I thought about my life. About my stress. How I was crumbling amidst my storm. How I was being torn apart by the negativity swarming my mind. How I was falling apart with each minute. If that rabbit could be so calm in the midst of a literal storm, why couldn’t I find a sense of calm in the middle of the figurative storm that was my life. 

I realized that I could find a way to be calm in the middle of a storm, and I needed to.  I had to take a step back from my life and focus on one thing at a time. Worrying about four different stressors at the same time was never the way to solve my problems. And there is no way I would be able to solve my problems as stressed and frustrated as I was. Being calm was the key to all my problems. 

I never thought that the stress and nervousness in my life would be resolved from watching a calm  rabbit in the middle of a raging storm. I couldn’t believe how much the measly little rabbit impacted my life and how I wished it could impact others’ as well. However, despite my disbelief, I was glad that I was able to learn to be calm in the middle of a storm from a rabbit that my wandering eyes almost missed.