I am sitting here on my patio, which has doubled as my home office for the last 6 weeks, watching the rain. This is our first real soaking rain of our winter rain season. The significance is interesting in that rain and rainfall not only play significant roles in the physicality of our world existence, they provide many important analogies life and growth
The former is fairly obvious, whereas the latter has multiple meaning for everybody.
So why am I soaking up the rain. I am sitting here and contemplating the craziness of our current world. After 6 weeks of partial lockdown in Australia due to Covid-19 it would be wonderful if the rains could wash away this virus and return us to some semblance of normality. Sitting here I can smell the freshness of the rain, I even notice how the dust has settled and the air smells cleaner.
And so just like the plants in the garden that are soaking up the physical rain, I am soaking up the metaphysical rain. Its been more than 3 months since I last wrote a blog and so the rains bring back some contemplative creativity.
My childhood memories of growing up in Johannesburg in South Africa have a completely different perspective on the rain. Johannesburg had summer rainfall, almost always accompanies by thunder and lightening. We also had (in the regular years) pretty much a thunder storm every afternoon for a short while. In summer, this was not only feeding our plants, but sometimes providing relief from the heat. At other times, it just added to the humidity around us. As much as this was a part of our life growing up, its also amazing in retrospect how much we tried to will the rain away.
My wife and I planned our wedding as a garden wedding at 4pm in the afternoon in February 1990. An hour before the ceremony (Chupah) there was a massive thunderstorm and as I was walking down the aisle, there were staff members trying to sweep the carpet and remove the water. The good news is that it did stop raining and the wedding was wonderful – and we are still married 30 years later. So although the rains may have a relatively short impact on our world, their influence can be felt for decades.
As I sit here and soak up the rain, I look out at the garden and wonder what the world will look like. I cant help but think of the quote by Robert Kennedy who in 1966 said “ A revolution is coming — a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough — but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability.”
The economic impact of Covid-19 will be felt for years to come. The personal impact of many millions of people who have become unemployed, or lost loved ones through the pandemic is immeasurable. My heart goes out to those that have been affected. That said, the lockdowns and social distancing restrictions have given many people the opportunity to contemplate and re-design their lives and their life work balance.
As I sit here and soak up the rain I’m contemplating the rains giving life to our land. Im contemplating the rains creating new growth shoots that we should be nurturing. I’m contemplating how the rains have settled the dust and brought some clarity of vision.
The challenge for everyone in a post covid-19 world is to be pro-active and continually search for the shoots that need nurturing. With that we can become the rains that help our lives grow stronger and better.