Some People Feel the Rain...
“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” Robert Nesta Marley
This is one of my all-time favorite sayings (and I am an admitted quote hoarder), and Bob was certainly one who chose to dance in the rain. This morning, the showers came unexpectedly to the beach as we were flowing toward the end of a beautiful beach yoga class. With 16 wet faces staring back at me, I had a moment of panic. “Do they hate this?” I worried. And then, to a person, the grins broke out – wide and genuine. I was in the company of fellow dancers.
I’ve always been drawn to the rain and fog. I believe it’s because I saw so little of it growing up in Colorado. If it rained we ran outside, not in, to play in the magic. And fog, when it occurred, was nothing less than pure enchantment. To this day, when I smell rain on dry ground my stomach flutters and a part of me is 8 years old again. I guess that magic seeped well and fully into me, and thank goodness for it!
In my adult life, Chris and I have spent months living in the tropics under the sun and stars, our dwelling nothing more than a simple tent. It agrees with us, with our way of being in the world. But it is hard to keep a tent, and one’s belongings, dry in the deep green humidity of the trees on a tropical island. And when it rains (which is often), things can end up soggy for days (weeks) on end. Over the years, we got pretty savvy with protecting our gear. On the beach, for example, if a dumper came through we’d be the ones who’d swiftly throw their rain gear over their belongings and then stand on the open beach getting soaked to the bone in swimsuits and surf trunks. Our bodies certainly dried more quickly than our canvas packs, clothes, and terrycloth towels. It became instinctual, this rapid response to water falling from the sky. And truth be told, I took a bit of pride in how quickly we could activate “keep-things-dry” mode. No slow-witted tourists, us!
And then it so happened that one year we were staying for a few days on-island with my in-laws…in a house, with walls and a roof – not to mention covered decks, ceiling fans, and a washer and dryer! We were all sitting outside when the skies opened up. I lurched from my chair and sprinted to where our shirts, shorts, and towels were drying on the line. As I was grabbing at our belongings to whisk them to safety, the obvious occurred to me. And I started to laugh. I felt a little foolish. What was this knee-jerk response that had so taken over the girl who grew up dancing in the rain?
That little island experience, which took up maybe 5 minutes of the sum total of my decades of adventuring (thus far), has stayed with me. It happened probably 10 years ago…and I’ve used those years to turn the battleship that holds my habits slooowly around. I mean, let’s be honest, there’s still the practicality of keeping one’s belongings dry if you’re living in a tent. So if the situation calls for it, I can still hustle! What’s different is that I’m better at being present…knowing what’s a useful and necessary response as opposed to a foolish and habitual one. But man, oh man, when I’m outdoors and the rain starts falling and I know there’s dry shelter down the road somewhere…it is pure joy! The dance is back!
(As a postscript, I wouldn’t be worth my salt as a collector of well-crafted words if I didn’t take time to mention that the above quote has also been attributed to Bob Dylan and the country singer Roger Miller, he of the “King of the Road” classic.)