“Rain” © R.L. Herron
Today started as a beautiful, sunny morning and it stayed that way well into the afternoon.
However, as nice as the day seemed destined to be, around dinner time the sky suddenly darkened, the wind began to blow and, as the temperature plummeted, rain started to fall, hard and cold.
Anyone who had not paid attention to the weather forecast was certain to get a very wet surprise.
Life can be just like that.
Sunny and mild and seemingly quite nice, only to suddenly turn stormy and deliver a very unwelcome drenching.
Quite often the storm seems to come out of the proverbial “nowhere.” At other times, it is all too obviously of our own doing.
We’ve all heard the saying “into each life some rain must fall” and the cliche is overworked, but true.
We can all expect to be caught in a very unwelcome downpour from time-to-time. The really telling thing comes in how we respond to it. We can, as many do, lament our position and cry. You see it in our media all the time.
However, the stories we admire and consider extraordinary are those where the drenching rain is shrugged off, the people dry themselves as best they can, give help to their neighbors and keep going.
These stories of perseverance are the tales we hold high and repeat. We tend to find them remarkable, but the choice to react that way is always our own. Always.
As I watched the clouds roll by this afternoon, I couldn’t help pondering how we, collectively, have been handling the stormy downturn in the world’s economy. It wasn’t as much of a stretch as it might seem.
Are we using it as an excuse to lament, or are we tightening our belts, holding out our hands to our neighbors and looking for shelter?
The way we react says a lot about us, both as individuals and as a society.
I hope I’m the kind of person who puts out his hand to others in need, and I’m enough of an optimist to look for my neighbor’s hand in return.
The world, as bleak as it can sometimes get, seems a little brighter that way.
Painting With Light 