Thursday, November 13, 2008

GRATEFUL FOR A WALK IN THE AUTUMN RAIN

My car is in the shop. I had several errands to run all of which could be completed without the use of an automobile. Being "car-less" in the suburbs is considered by many comparable to being stranded on a far away island.
Yet, the absence of a car was refreshing and challenging. I stepped out of my building, umbrella in hand, and proceeded to walk toward my first destination, the local library. My tent-wide "Tanglewood" head covering comfortably protected me from the ceaseless cascade of rain drops and the fresh autumn air filled my lungs with its life-enhancing energy.
Rather than feel inconvenienced and annoyed by the inclement weather conditions of the gloomy cold, I directed my attention to all the many reasons for feeling grateful on this gray suburban morning.
I had an umbrella which I was able to comfortably carry; the air was brisk and invigorating;I was able to combine doing an errand with some healthy bodily exercise; the whistling of the wind provided a musical background to my journey; leaves of fading yellow and red drifted in the air, their pungent aroma sweetening my mind; trees swayed and danced as gusts of wind blew against my face,bracing my skin against the raw elements of the autumn chill; the waters of a fall rain would replenish the earth and fill the reservoirs; creation was being renewed as it is each day.
A memory flashed through my mind. Children in bathing suits, carousing in the rain, jumping wildly through the splattering downpour. Laughing with abandon, as free as they could ever be. The rain released their restrained vigor and joy, with myriads of drops drenched in the eruption of human energy, in the explosion of life itself.

It was good to walk in the rain today. I found myself singing in the rain, grateful for this simple, ordinary stroll.

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