The Rains Are Coming....

For the past few weeks I have been hearing, "The rains are coming," from a few of my friends. This is a phrase you are more likely to hear if you live in a tropical climate that has a dry season and a wet season. At first, I thought it was just something people say here when a certain month rolls around, like we start talking about snow in November. But, I realized that it is more than just the time of year, it is a feeling in the air. The weather is changing, instead of the gorgeous clear sunny skies we've enjoyed since January, the air is becoming humid and heavy. We are now seeing cloudy and overcast skies more frequently. Now, when I hear, "The rains are coming," it feels ominous. Almost like something out of a Wes Craven or Stephen King novel. The rains are indeed coming and we are bracing ourselves for the flooding and extremely loud thunder that accompanies them. While on the walking path this morning, I looked at the sky and it was dark and heavy with moisture. I thought about this as a metaphor for life. When we go through life and we experience happiness and contentment, it is inevitable that something will happen to change the perfection we had been experiencing. The rains of life include illness, job changes, family strife and many other things that cause us to stay home and shut the windows and hide from the flood of sadness. I often turn to two things to help me when I am bracing myself for the rains of life, one is the Serenity Prayer and the other is Buddhist philosophy. Both essentially say the same thing, it doesn't matter what happens to you, it is your reaction that will determine how you feel. When the rains were here in the fall, instead of staying in my apartment for hours waiting for the rains to stop and the flooding to recede, I ordered pink plaid rubber boots. I wear them all through the rainy season so I can go out and experience the city- rains, and flooded streets and all. The rains are coming and I can't wait.