The other morning, I did something I often do before work.
I grabbed my usual take-out coffee and headed into the city centre for a walk - nothing unusual about that. But the weather had other ideas.
The wind was wild.
Rain whipped sideways through the streets.
The kind of grey morning that makes people pull their coats tighter and keep their heads down.
But I walked anyway. I needed that moment. That little pause before the day began.
I ended up standing in the newly finished city gardens - this beautiful, calm space Bradford’s just created in the middle of its rebirth. Concrete replaced by colour. Roads replaced by rest. It’s become a kind of sanctuary, even when the weather isn’t playing nice.
That day, it wasn’t.
My hood was up.
The wind tugged at my coat.
My coffee was cooling too fast in my hands.
It started to rain harder.
Then something unexpected happened.
The sun pushed through the clouds.
Not shyly. Not faintly.
But boldly. Strong. Steady.
I turned to face it.
I let the rain hit my back.
Let the wind press against me.
I tilted my head toward that stubborn, radiant light.
Eyes closed. Face lifted.
Soaking up every bit of warmth I could catch.
In that moment - with chaos behind me, cold surrounding me, coffee in hand
I felt peace.
Not because the storm stopped.
But because I chose to focus on the light.
That’s when it hit me - this is life.
We all walk through storms.
Days when nothing goes to plan.
When winds of uncertainty threaten to knock us off course.
When the rain soaks through the layers we thought would protect us.
Yet, hope shines anyway.
Not always loudly.
Not always in ways we expect.
But it’s there.
A sun breaking through the clouds.
A reminder that joy, peace, meaning - whatever you need to keep going - is still available in the middle of it all.
You don’t have to wait for perfect conditions.
You don’t have to fix everything first.
You just have to turn towards what matters.
So now, when life gets overwhelming. When I feel pulled in too many directions or battered by the winds of other people’s opinions or soaked in the pressure of doing and being everything - I remember that moment.
Me.
In the storm.
Coffee in hand.
Eyes closed.
Face to the sun.
Still standing.
Still hopeful.
Still here.