This post is not about social media but wow, what a phenomenon! I put this quote up on Facebook and within five minutes I had two people “like” it and within the next hour or so, two more. Now, several hours later, six people have “liked” it and one person said, “I love it!” So cool how words can bring us back together in a simple way.
So, the quote: “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” I don’t know about you but I have never actually “danced in the rain” as they say. I’m not sure I’ve ever been outside in rain and been remotely happy about it. Sure, I can picture the serenity one may feel by standing in the rain, not caring about getting wet and simply experiencing one of nature’s gifts. Maybe I just haven’t found the right place and moment to dance in the rain.
What I have experienced, however, are storms. We all face storms. In fact, we all get caught in storms. Some are smaller than others and some feel like hurricanes that just won’t go away. Maybe we get a little break in the eye of the hurricane, a little reprieve, but chances are it isn’t really over. I think that may be the point though: it isn’t over and it won’t ever truly be over. Life is hard. Life has storms. Life also has moments of quiet stillness that then mold back into storms. I don’t say this to provoke sadness or to be pessimistic. On the contrary! I say this to validate the fact that you may have storms in your life but you are not alone. We are in them together and we can survive them together, even if we don’t know each other.
For example, I think “dancing in the rain” can be smiling at a stranger passing by, holding the door open for that person who has too much in their hands, or helping a child reach something too high for them to get by themselves. It can also be the moment in which you stop to think about the storm you are currently in and saying to yourself, “Ok, this is hard and I am doing the best I can right now.” In my experience, having that moment of compassion toward myself can feel like dancing as I feel a little flutter in my heart. Maybe it is courage to continue on or maybe it is resolve to not let this storm consume me. Whatever it is, the moment of compassion I give to myself is the beginning of me learning how to dance in the rain, a step in the right direction. When the time is right, maybe I’ll actually go out and dance in the rain.
Annoymous
