Perspective: It's Raining!

I know the odds are you are probably
thinking, so what?

Maybe you don't even like the rain.

Up until about two years ago
I took rain for granted.

I have, until two years ago,
always lived in a climate that
had 4 (mostly) distinct seasons,
and ample amount of rain.

Two years ago I moved to SoCal,
otherwise known as Southern California.
I knew the song that says it never
rains in Southern California, and
was even amazed when I came for
a visit for a few days the year
before I moved that every day it
was raining. I was so sad. I wanted
to see sunny California. It's the
way it's supposed to be, isn't it?

I moved here, and in the first
year if it rained a handful of times,
it was a lot.

Whenever it was due to rain, it
was a newsworthy story. People who
are natives of here don't seem to
handle it well. I think they may just
be used to all of the sunshine, and
have become a little spoiled.

Living in the NYC area, I was caught
more than a few times in an unexpected
downpour. Depending on how I was dressed,
and where I needed to be, I would have
different reactions.

One time I got off the subway after work,
and it was POURING...it was incredible.

Most everyone was caught off guard, and
people were huddling, waiting for it to
stop before heading home.

I took a moment to assess the situation,
and when I realized that I wasn't wearing
anything that could be damaged, wasn't
carrying anything that could be damaged,
and was only going home, I did what for
many would likely be unthinkable: I
walked home, and not only did I walk home,
I walked home SLOWLY.

It was only a few blocks, and when I got
to my building, you would have thought
that I had just stepped out of the shower
with my clothes on.

It was an incredible feeling to be so free
to enjoy what nature was offering.

It was an incredible feeling to soak in the
moment.

It was an incredible memory that I remember
vividly to this day.

It's so funny how people are always afraid
to get wet, and for women especially how
it can mess with your hair and make up. I
had been one of them, until that day.

I still cared when I was heading somewhere
important, but when that wasn't the case,
I could really "soak" in the atmosphere of
the storm, whether or not I chose to get
actually get soaked.

So...I move to California, and it IS Sunny,
and it is occasionally cloudy, and once in
a while the weather flirts with rain. I
came to realize, in time, how much I missed
the rain.

I knew I would miss NYC Chinese food, NYC
bagels, and NYC pizza. I knew because I
had left it other times, but I never once
considered how rain would come to be a part
of that list.

It just goes to show me that when you are
in the midst of something, it isn't always
easy to appreciate to what you've got. I
know we've heard how you "don't miss it
til it's gone." However, somehow between
the things that we come to miss, it seems
all too easy to forget to remember to
appreciate what we have.

So...while I was in NY, I appreciated the
rain, but nothing like I do now. The
beauty of it is the excitement I can now
have from the sounds of a storm. It is
an added dimension.

Perspective can be an awesome gift, when
I allow myself it. There are times I
could give it to myself or, like with the
rain, wait for life to provide it for me.

I love the feeling of the added dimension.
It gives me a childlike feeling of
excitement. In many cases, an abundance
of snow is only exciting for a child.

A child has no where to be, except school,
and perhaps it keeps him from having to
go. An adult looks at it, and it's "UGH."

For an adult it means shoveling, un-burying
the car, driving on slick roads. How
often does an adult, though, appreciate
the weather that is clear?

It may seem silly to you that I enjoy rain
so much. However, I share it so that
perhaps you can see where in your life
you find yourself forgetting to remind
yourself to be thankful for the wonderful
things that are happening to you.

As much as I appreciate the rain now, I
wish I could more so when I was in NY.
There were so many more opportunities to
be excited that I missed.