While on my daily walk around the track/basketball court at the local elementary school it started to rain.
There were several young boys playing basketball – and – at the first sign of rain they ran.
I knew that even if it down-poured I was going to continue to walk around that track.
I watched them run away and get on their bikes and ride away.
Inside of a minute the rain stopped and I wondered if they would come back. They didn’t. They had aborted their game and their fun – at the first sign of rain.
Ten minutes later the down-pour started. I continued to walk, got drenched, but I felt free.
Then suddenly the rain stopped and the sun came out.
I continued to walk around the track.
Life Lessons:
1. In life there will be both rain (“bad” things) and sunshine (“good” things) – embrace both the rain and the sunshine that comes in your life.
2. The rain can come as sprinkles (small manageable “bad” things) or as down-pours (knock you off your feet “bad” things) – but you still need to stay and face those things.
3. Don’t let the weather (good or bad things) determine your actions (mood, thoughts, purpose, path, goals) – if you know where you’re suppose to be and doing what you’re suppose to be doing, keep going.
4. Sometimes the rain starts small (maybe it’s a sign of things to come), then it stops (maybe it’s over) and comes back with a vengeance (will it ever end?). Just like tests in life you get to decide what you are going to do when it rains. Do you run or walk on in and through the rain until the sun shines again?
5. Sometimes you need to walk though the rain to see what it feels like and see what happens. Once you’ve experienced it and made it out on the other end you realize, it wasn’t as scary as you thought. You grew. You learned. You made it through that. It’s now apart of your story. (Remember, we all have a story)
The Rain Always Stops
Those boys were too young to know that the rain would stop.
As adults we can sometimes be like those young boys when facing life situations – we run a the first sign of trouble – in relationships, in jobs, in new towns, in organizations, in idea creation, in inventions, and in business endeavors – but if you know where you’re going and what you’re doing you can stay put if you know you’re on the right track — your track — your path.
You do have a path – a track that once you get on it that doors will open that you didn’t know were there. Once you get on that path and are okay with your journey of life then you can stop being afraid of the rain that will come in your life. You can appreciate the rain weather you decide to walk on through it (face stuff) and stop running (out of fear) of what could happen (probably won’t) or you can decide to run (until you realize that rain will continue to come in your life and you’ve gotta embrace it in order to grow).
But When Do You Run?
When it starts lightning which is a sign to Retreat, Reflect and Review what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.