Custodio: Let it rain!
YOU would be living under a rock if you haven't noticed how much rain we've been getting the past few weeks. The heavy downpour is hard to ignore, especially when you wake up in the wee hours of the morning to the pitter-pattering of raindrops on your roof!
It may as well be really raining cats and dogs at times, I worry waking up buried under a pile of collapsed roofing!
Still, I can't help but feel thankful that we are where we are -- in Davao, where there is enough rain to cool hot days and nourish growing crops, but no typhoons to wreak havoc on lives. We are indeed lucky not to be faced with any water shortages, let's take care of what we have so that we don't need to suffer the consequences. Okay?
Rain always gets a bad beating, not to mention really bad "associations." Cold, damp, gray. Lonely. Poor rain!!!! Being blamed for floods and for contributing to an already broken heart. But Not me. Rain always brings back good and amusing memories. I never feel my day is ruined when it rains.
Like the time, during my college days, I got caught in EDSA for eight hours due to floods caused by a tropical depression. I was such a good target for gusty winds and heavy rains (i.e. I'm big), I looked like a drowned, healthy rat by the time I finally got on a bus! Needless to say I was cold and shivering and the air-conditioning made it worse! Oh but wait! I had clothes and a towel in my bag! So, I asked the guy in front to hold the towel up for me as I changed into dry clothes!! Voila! No colds!
I've walked knee deep in floodwater. I had my umbrella but it was no match for the torrent that fell mercilessly. I was soaked, rain rolling down my face like in the movies. All I needed was to start crying and I'd be the lead star in my own melodrama! But I didn't cry! I waved hello and smiled at the people who looked surprised to see me leisurely walking in the rain while everyone else was scurrying for safety!
I must have walked three kilometers and still could only recall how it felt good to finally be home, showered and fed with a hot meal. The rain just made me appreciate the things I took for granted, more.
Last week, I played in the rain. In my night gown. First, I stood still and waited how long it would take to be totally drenched. (Five minutes!). Then I went out into the street to see if anybody else was crazy like me. (There were none!) Too bad! Tsk! So I played in the rain, jumping up and down, flapping my arms and sticking my tongue out to catch raindrops! I made swishing sounds as my feet swept running water as it formed puddles that reflected the sky.
It was fun!! It felt good to feel like a child again...to do childish things and just enjoy being free, with reckless abandon! I closed my eyes and turned my face up, feeling the million kisses from above as each raindrop fell on my face. I was thankful for this simple pleasure that made me realize I was still alive and kicking!
As I was writing this article, I needed to sort a lot of thoughts and feelings I had about what the rain meant to me and it really is a celebration of life!! When it rains, the Earth is washed anew, the crops are nourished. When I watch the rain, I feel calm and collected, my troubles seemingly washed away as the raindrops slither on my window pane. I can't help it!
Rain really makes me feel happy. Stereotypically, rain has been associated with negative emotions. It really does connote sad, heartbreaking experiences. It is mentioned in sad love songs, used as a backdrop for sad movie scenes. Rain simply wreaks melodrama! When it rains, the tears fall. Or so they say. I really don't need to put up with the rain as an armament of sadness. And even if it is, I welcome it completely. We can't always have sunshine as much as we would want it.
The important thing is to realize that everything in life, like the rain, has a good and bad side. Being humans, we have the innate ability to choose what we want for ourselves. I do not think anyone would choose to feel sad, or be swept away by melancholy...just because. As humans we should always strive to be happy. Things might not always turn out the way we want them to, but we can always choose see the good in it and learn from it.
So, it's okay to feel sad, after all, we are only human. Sometimes it does help to go through the motions to be able to let go. The important thing is to realize that things will eventually change. The rain will stop and the sun will shine! Who knows, a rainbow might just decide to appear, too!