Dancing In The Rain

This week has been a reminder of true British weather with constant changes in a matter of minutes or hours.

The final day of the Great Yorkshire Show, which is in its 164th year ended with a rainy day but people were prepared with umbrellas, rain coats and wellies. The determination to enjoy the final day of the show despite the weather was there for all to see.

A quote by Bob Marley which says, ‘Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet’, comes to mind as I watched people’s reaction to the often unpredictable British weather. Having lived in Cumbria, Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire, I have concluded there’s no escaping the rain for me; it seems to follow me.

I often look up and say a little prayer asking for mercy for the rain to subside so I can get around as I need to and I must say, they are mostly answered. I want the rain, but I ask for a bit of cover along the way.

After walking home in the rain on Friday evening, I woke up on Saturday morning and it looked bright but when I pulled the curtains, I realised it was raining and would continue to do so for the next few hours. I had a choice, go back to bed, postpone my exercise with increased risk of not doing it, go on the treadmill in the garage or embrace the rain.

I reminded myself that I’m not made out of salt so chances of melting in the rain was nil, I considered the fact that my sneakers and clothes would need washing after the walk and I would need to wrap up warm during and after the walk. I dressed as appropriately as I could, put on upbeat music and hit the road.

There were very few people outside braving the weather but the young footballers doing their weekly practices and competitions were out in the rain. This took me back to the years of being a footie mum in all sorts of weather with my golf umbrella, foldable chairs, flask of hot coffee and waterproof boots. I remembered the race to the car to make sure my car was protected from muddy pants and boots. I had a smile on my face and a lot of respect for all the children, parents and coaches out in the rain.

At this point the rain got heavier and for a brief second, I considered cutting my walk short but discarded the idea and instead decided to focus on the music I was playing which led to me dancing in the rain. This drew a smile from the odd persons that I ran into and I know it’s because they realised it was my way of making the most of the situation at hand.

I had a choice to focus on how wet I was getting or find something positive to anchor to in the middle of the rain. I remembered the scene from the film, ‘dancing in the rain’ and I thought to myself, ‘why walk in the rain when you can dance?’. Let’s just say I had a life lesson moment during my walk.

Stop waiting for the right time

There’s rarely a perfect time to venture out, take risks or do your exercises and we can always find reasons to defer what must be done waiting for perfect conditions that very rarely happen. Learn to work with imperfect conditions whilst pushing for the results you want.

‘Dance in the rain and always find the silver lining around every cloud. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning to dance in the rain.’ Vivian Greene

Give it time

As Maya Angelou said in her quote, ‘Every Storm runs out of rain.’ There are situations in life that produce those ‘uncomfortable, undesired and unwelcome rains on our parade and joy if we let them. But if we hold on to our peace and joy through it, we will see that the storms eventually run out of rain. We can be determined to still be standing when the storm runs out of rain.

Life is about growing

Everything we go through makes us stronger, wiser, better and at the very least gives us invaluable experience. We are never the same before and after as a brighter version of ourselves is revealed. As Mehmet Murat Ildan says, ‘The sun after the rain is more beautiful than the sun before the rain.’

There are two sides to a coin

When I am tempted to complain about the weather, I remind myself of those who are praying for what I am wishing away. As I grow more things in my garden, I am glad that I don’t always have to manually wet my plants. Tom Barrett puts it better in his quote that says, ‘If the rain spoils our picnic, but saves a farmer’s crop, who are we to say it shouldn’t rain?’  

Roll with life

I want to conclude this post with a quote from Norman Vincent Peale which says, ‘Life is a blend of laughter and tears, a combination of rain and sunshine.’ Make the most of the ups and downs and keep your love, peace, hope and joy alive through it all.

Thanks for reading my post, see you next week.