One of my favourite childhood memories and pleasures was being allowed to bathe in the rain. Man, we would wait for a nice, heavy shower and eagerly look to mummy for the approval to change into swimsuits and have a nice frolic. It got so that we could tell by the force of the rain how long it would last, if we could get a nice bath/game going or if it was what we called “sick” rain. You know…the rain that no matter how much hot cocoa you drink afterward, you’re still gonna get sick. Yep, I’m a rain…dare I say it…I’m a rainWOman when it comes to rain.

This is a pleasure I still enjoy even in adulthood. It feels so invigorating just standing in the rain. Feeling each drop coolly merging with your skin. Face towards the sky, there is something so zen about feeling the water on your skin. Pores raised. Cool rain on warm skin. Just so fresh and new. And I can hear the tsk tsks now but for me there is something so naughty about being in the rain and of course the memories of my childhood always bring me a special joy. I will definitely need a secluded backyard one day, so that when I have kids, I can share this simple pleasure with them. And well, when I say there is something naughty about rain, just think wet kisses…cold rain…warm bodies. But I digress.

The very cycle of how rain is formed is powerful and a true testament to the power of creation. Nothing good can happen without rain. Water is life, without it we cannot grow or evolve. Just as the earth accepts rain, so that it can be fruitful, it’s the same for us. There will be rain in our lives, but I choose to see it as a blessing, come to wash us, to nourish us and to give life. Yes it may cause a flood, which might clear some old paths and create new ones. Yes, the water might be muddy but in its wake, nothing is the same. Rain changes everything.

On my little island in the sun, rain is a fact of life, especially now as we are in the thick of Hurricane season. Ernesto is moving his way through the Caribbean and he leaves in his wake thunder showers aplenty. Rain, is in fact, a fact of every life. After all tears must fall. That’s why Standing in the RAIN is such a powerful metaphor for standing in our feelings. Letting them wash over us. The only way to heal it, is to feel it. We have to sit with our emotions or stand in them, so that we can push through them and move forward.

And after the rain has subsided and the clouds have parted, the sun always comes out, sometimes even with a rainbow. All the more reason to enjoy it.

I must apologize for not being up-to-date with my 29 gifts posts, I was busy at work and this was also my birthday week. My 29-Gift journey ended yesterday and I will post the last few days before the weekend is over.