I was lying awake in bed at 3am last night as thunderous winds pummeled my window.
Hurricane-level gusts tumbled down the mountain that stands above the house I’m staying in. When they hit the shutters, it sounded like a kid with very full lungs blowing a whistle.
I couldn’t sleep from the noise. The only thing I could think to do is turn on the lights and start researching this wind, which in Croatian is called bura.
So let me tell you a couple interesting bura facts:
In 2012, a particularly bad bura made the Adriatic sea freeze. The bura ripped trees from the soil and threw fish out of the water. Waves got as big as 7 meters.
Many islands in Croatia are completely barren on their landward side. The reason is the bura, which strips away soil and covers everything in a salty mist.
To slow down the onslaughts of bura, most towns on the eastern Adriatic have narrow, labyrinth-like streets. In some towns, houses have stone roofs, because the bura rips tiles away. In Trieste, they sometimes stretch chains or ropes around town to help people steady themselves when the bura hits.
But let me wrap this up:
Not long ago, I read a book that compared fortune to a natural disaster. That book used a flood as metaphor, but I think a bura would work too. When it hits, nothing stands in its way. Trees are ripped up. Buildings are ruined. Fish go flying.
I used to think it made no sense to worry about unpredictable events. But the natural disaster metaphor changed my mind.
Because when the weather is more or less calm, you can put a stone roof on your house. Or install some ropes to steady yourself. Or even think about the layout of your town.
Maybe this is getting too poetic. My point is simply that there are things under your control, even in the face of fickle fortune. You can build up your skills, your assets, and your relationships. This is the best insurance to help you survive a disaster… and maybe even come out ahead when the wind dies down.
On the topic of building up your skills:
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