Celebrating Rain

Rain is very much a part of life. It quenches Nature's thirst. It brings to life many creatures and many landscapes. It gives people water, the essence of life. Can you imagine life with no water? So, how can life be without rain?

Rain in Central Park

Yet, we don't necessarily welcome rain. A rainy day is not my favourite, at all. It is wet and makes me feel dreary. But it has its own beauty, too. Have you ever watched when rain comes to the lake? It is like a shroud around the sun that still shines even with the rain.

Once, a wise woman told us that rain like the sun is there for us to enjoy. A few of us took this seriously and went out in the rain. We got wet but we had so much fun, walking in the hills and enjoying the streams as we sang the song of St. Francis, A Prayer for Peace. We were filled with so much joy. Just like when we lie on the dock to enjoy the sun. This time, we enjoyed the dripping of the rain on our faces, catching some of them on our lips and enjoying the feel of its cold caress on our bodies. 

In life, it is not always sunny. Times are there when rain comes and they come in torrents, in hurricanes, in storms, in typhoons and drench us, fill our souls with dread and pain. When this happens, we cover ourselves like we do when it rains. We protect ourselves and we stay in. We hide from it. We run away to take shelter. 

This is what we tend to do when misfortune comes. We avoid the difficulties that come our way. We run away. We hide. We don't want to look at it so we try to avoid it. Pretend these are not there. 

We label them with negative words. Crisis, adversity, strain, struggle, trouble, distress, mishap and what have you. They make me feel the negative in these words as I type them. We ask ourselves, Why? 

Negative Feeling about Rain

That was what the wise woman asked us when we were running to go in as the rain started. Why? 

We had been raised to think of rain as negative. We were told to go in each time it rains. We were covered to protect us from it. We do this with the sun but only when it is really intense. We go out and welcome it. We don't hide away from it. 

What about embracing rain in our lives? What about transforming its negative connotations by embracing it. Maybe when we embrace it fully as part of life, as part of us, joy will come.

Pain comes to life whether we run away from it or hide. It is there even if we keep it in. Our loved ones know when we are in pain and they want to be part of it. They, too, are in pain. They want to celebrate this with us. 

Yes, celebrate the pain. It is part of life. Many things, persons and incidents in life pain us but we try to hide this. We only celebrate joy, not pain. 

Pain and rain are there. It is up to us. Run from it? Hide it. Or, celebrate it.