In Storm

When I was a kid, I was told that life can give you sunny days and rainy days.

I thought they were talking about the weather.

I thought that by carrying an umbrella, I could shield myself from any pain that would ever come my way.

I was wrong.

What I didn’t know was that a lot of life can be like a hurricane.

There are times when the rushing currents sweep up and overwhelm you.

There are days when the waves leave you battered and bruised

coughing up water

on a sand bar

twenty miles from shore.

Don’t tell me there’s an umbrella strong enough to shield me from that blast.

I know better.

And I know that sometimes life is like a race.

Where you find yourself prepared to sprint to the finish line.

Except sometimes it’s not until the starting gun sounds that you realize you’ve tied your shoelaces together

And you’re running into a nose dive.

Well, I’ve learned something from that too.

You see, when else but when your arms are outstretched to catch a fall are you able to fully embrace life?

Bruises and all.

And I’ve learned that sometimes you just have to take a minute and breathe in the moment.

Because how do you know how much air you will need to breathe to take the plunge into that icy sea called life?

When I was a kid, I was told that it took both rain and sunlight to make a rainbow.

And while I know they were talking about the weather,

True beauty is born of both as well.

Sunny with a CHANCE of Rain (Or Why I Shouldn't Worry)

Some days the weatherman should look out the window. That’s what many of us may say to ourselves on the mornings when we hear their chipper voices advise that we might want to bring out an umbrella if we plan to venture forth, only to peer through the curtains and be greeted with a bright, cloudless day. Sometimes it seems they get it wrong more often than right. How many times have we been promised a big snow storm, dreaming of a snow day, and then wake up the next morning to a pitiful dusting of flurries? Or have a perfect beach day, all planned ahead of time, be ruined by a torrential downpour? But I would never blame a meteorologist. You can study data and make predictions for all you’re worth but it never guarantees a perfect forecast. It’s just a fact of life.

 I think many people’s biggest problem, myself included, is that we try too hard to see what’s ahead. We want some assurance that we’ll be prepared for what’s to come.  That’s why we worry and try to plan for the unknown. But it would never do to carry our “umbrellas” with us everywhere we go. Trying to predict what happens next only holds us back and weighs us down. It clouds our vision so to speak. If we are too intent on figuring out the forecast for our own life, we miss the beautiful day that is right in front of us.

In Stormy Weather

“

Some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.

”

                                                                                                ~ Willa Carter

The rain will often give more than just a slick, cold slap in the face. It offers short moments to ponder and quick glimpses of peace in the most surprising of circumstances. There is something about being out in a storm; sort of like standing against everything life throws at you. Sometimes I’ll go out in a good rainstorm and laugh in its face. For a fleeting moment, I’m almost content. The winds may be roaring, lightning flashing and the rain falling in torrents around me, and yet, it’s during those most chaotic moments that I feel at peace. In some way, nature understands. It’s like my mind is in turmoil but I don’t have to articulate anything. It just is and, for the moment, that is enough.  

Or at least that’s what I’m learning.

A Busy Street After Rainfall

A busy street after rainfall:

Cars creating mist as they rumble through puddles.

Busy people oblivious to all that surrounds them,

Focussed on work, traffic and their impatience.

The city: a whirl of shouting, honking, rushing, and anger. 

A lone raindrop on an office window,

Struggling to remain rooted,

Drooping with the weight of its burden.

Agonizingly, it begins to

                                                drip

                                                                down

                                                                                the window pane

until it reaches the sill.

There it finally stops and clings. 

Seconds, so precious to some,

Wished away by the impatient ones.

Traffic         jerks                to            a              halt.

With a final gasp, the raindrop lets go.

A small splash on wet pavement.

Un-noticed by the busy street after rainfall.

(I'm sort of cheating here as this was written in July of 2010)

Small Victories

Sometimes it's the smallest things that tug at the curtains of despair and nudge you onward. I am always amazed at how even the dreariest rainy day can be transformed into a sparkling sunrise. You just have to search for the source of light. Today it was a child's pair of pink and yellow polka-dotted rain boots left out on someone's front porch. They were quickly filling with water. In my mind, they took on a life of their own, bouncing through puddles: a spraying, laughing and dancing whimsy of delight. Moments such as these are like waking from a dream. Suddenly there's a little less denial, a bit of a smile and opened eyes. Small victories. I think they're shaped like teardrops. But it's those that fill one up with joy.