After arriving home from work at the late hour of quarter to midnight, something simple yet profound caught my attention as I exited my parked car. There was silence. Not complete, however, the ambient song endlessly heard within urban society was strangely absent. Just the wind was salient.

I remained there for a moment, almost astounded by the unfamiliar feeling and watched as the wind blew small seeds from a nearby tree down the back lane in a constant stream, which danced carelessly around the inert objects in it’s path. The wind caressed my body with it’s restless yet subtle breeze, and at that moment, I felt a unique peace of mind.

I looked up at a tall nearby tree that overshadowed my house. Watched as the wind cast among the leaves, mimicking the infinite melody of waves splashing ashore on distant coasts. I stood there gazing into the cascading of leaves and branches, highlighted by the amber glow of an adjacent street lamp which contrasted the tree against the vague dark blue and partially clouded sky, looking for some purpose or truth. Any truth. My mind, contrary to my nature, was soothingly silent but my soul contemplated. For that short period of time, maybe a minute or two, everything seemed right. Though, unfortunately, no distinct epiphany came.

That is until I deviated my gaze to the direction of the wind, onto the horizon, past the crowded roofs of houses at the far end of the lane and past. There in the distance, almost prowling, were vast dark clouds swallowing all light that the massive city struggled to fill the sky. The darkness of those clouds was unnerving, like peeking into the dismal heart of the devil himself, but completely dismissive of everything around it.

Alas, at that miniscule moment before a passing car down a nearby street disrupted the rare peace, it all came to me. Like realizing you left your wallet at home after reaching the store, or forgetting someone or something’s name when it’s relevant and than remembering it later before you fall asleep. The truth of this subtle and comforting peace presented itself in the infinite dark nothingness of those distant clouds; a storm was coming this way. The revelation isn’t in that simple fact, rather, what those clouds and the possible storm represented.

Everything in life is balanced. For cold, there is hot. For male, there is female. For dark, there is light. For benevolence there is malevolence. And as such, for nothing there is something (however, I won’t go into the controversy of the meaning of “nothing”, but I will use it in the way it is commonly defined). Without one, there couldn’t be the other (per se).

Those malicious clouds were coming this way sooner or later, regardless of the present state of peace. That soothing consistent wind which makes the silence peaceful, is also the harbinger of the ensuing opposite. Thus, the wind physically represents the constant flowing of time, and the dark clouds represent the inevitable future of what is to come. Although one could predict, the unfortunate truth is that it is unknown. Those clouds may very well blow past, but conversely, the may stay and unleash the forces of nature. With that thought, I realized how (if I were to stay outside) I could be caught in whatever those dark clouds had in store. I would be wet, cold, and miserable. Fortunate for me, though, I have quite the optimistic resolve.

Much like how that storm represents negative events in a life’s timeline, the fact that the storm could and would not last forever and if I stood my ground and weathered it like the stones of the earth has for countless millennia, the storm would pass and the sun would shine again. So even if life tosses you the crumbs, you should never lose your stance and remain strong and confident in whom you are, the moment will pass and one of glee and contentment will replace it. As is the cycle of life. However, you must see life clearly, one moment (good or bad) after another, in order to grasp and hold onto this perspective soundly.

Life is too short to allow negative things to worry and deeply disturb you, as well as allowing the indulgence of good times to blind you to any future distress that may and most probably will occur. You must always be prepared for the inevitable, as unrecognizable as it may be, but cherish and enjoy every moment of bliss as though it were to never end. Only than, can you live life as you should until the day you must pass, and carry onto henceforth.

The great Roman military strategist, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, managed to sum all this up in one simple verse: “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum”. In english, this means: “If you want Peace, prepare for War”. Nothing could be further from the truth, for one who eludes ignorance. The idea is if you want one thing, always be prepared for the opposite. This is an excellent motto to live your life by, and to think, it was written nearly two thousand years ago.