Dancing in the Rain

There are a few things that everyone wants do in their life, at least once, before they die.  One of my “To Do’s” was accomplished yesterday, on a Tuesday night.  After a long day of walking trails, shadowing another colleague in an ornithology class, and spending time doing lab work in the administrative office, my colleagues and I randomly congregated at one of the cabins.  

Earlier during the day, I was coaching myself through a down moment again.  Monitoring my feelings, I needed to focus on creating positive thoughts and feelings about where I am.  After listening to one of my favorite motivational speakers, Abraham Hicks, I was set to look for the things in my life that easily reflect the abundance I desire.

“Notice the abundance of the trees, the amount of leaves that are on each of them.  Notice the abundance of grains of dirt that it takes to make the fields and trails that I walk on every day. Notice the abundance of clouds in the sky.”  These are the directions I gave to myself as I aimed to get back into a place where I could feel abundant about life again. Ahh.. It worked. 

The truth is guys, as much as I try to stay positive, I sometimes struggle with it.  The good thing is I’ve been able to get myself back on track a lot faster lately.  I’ve learned that it’s not about trying to STOP thinking negatively, but it’s about trying to think more positive more frequently.  It’s a process that will exist until my new habits take over and become a part of my character.  

So, as I made the decision to change my perspective, I got off work and low and behold a celebration awaited me.  I walked up to our cabins and the majority of my colleagues stood outside eating chili made by a very sweet girl who loves to be the group’s Betty Crocker.   We drank beer, put some dance party music on, and when the lighting and thunder interrupted our conversations, we celebrated shouting “Rain!! Rain!” as if we were Native Americans thanking the heavens for watering our crops.

I never thought I would ever find a group of people willing to just let the rain fall on them and DANCE IN IT!  Within the past few years, I’ve grown a true fondness for rain and it’s funny that I’ve also grown a true appreciation and understanding for the “rainy” days within my life.  So many times in the past I’ve dreaded the rain, I’ve dreaded the clouds, I’ve dreaded the thunder, and I’ve dreaded the cold wind that accompanies the cold feelings that used to overwhelm me.  In life, I am no longer afraid of the rain or thunder as I’ve learned to embrace and celebrate it all. 

So we dance and dance and dance.  The rain poured down, and we dance in it.