While on vacation, I had the most wonderful lesson in being open and present. We came back from our morning excursion and the sun was shining bright, there was no breeze, and the flat ocean was an incredible shade of blue. I couldn’t wait to float around on the Caribbean Sea with no worries of having the waves carry me off to some far away shore.
Upon finishing lunch and getting our stuff together, we left our room only to feel a steady cool breeze caressing our skin. As we got closer and closer to the ocean, the water became littered with waves and the sky started to fill with clouds. We welcomed the relief from the heat, and I took advantage of the change in weather by getting some video of the waves teasing the shore.
Eventually the white clouds turned to gray and the raindrops started falling from the sky. The Jamaican’s call it Liquid Sunshine. We had a quick shower the day before, so I assumed this one would pass just as quickly. The cold drops continued to hit our skin, and we momentarily contemplated heading back to the room, but the words of Bob Marley whispered through the rhythmic palm trees… “Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.”
The raindrops left goosebumps on my skin; or perhaps it was the whisper of the magical experience that was unfolding around me. I wandered down to the shoreline where the waves lapped at my toes seducing me with the promise of a warm embrace. Each step into the ocean brought me deeper into the moment.
When the warm water covered my shoulders, I was face to face with thousands of raindrops hitting the sea. Their splashes exploding into glistening spheres of light before returning to the water. “Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.” The words kept dancing in my head like the rain on the ocean. Time was completely lost to me. I couldn’t tell you how long we stayed out there. In some ways, it seemed like only a few minutes; in other ways, it seemed like a small eternity. Regardless, in those moments, my soul understood the lesson.
I felt the rain. I embraced the present conditions. Rather than run and hide from the looming weather, I made a choice to see the beauty in that moment and turn it into an experience. Don’t run from the rain. Don’t look at it as an inconvenience, instead embrace it. Don’t be afraid to feel. Without knowing what cold feels like, can there truly be an appreciation for warmth? Feelings allow us to truly see and fully appreciate that which is around us. So, the next time the heavens cry, I hope you take a moment to look up to the sky and allow yourself to feel the rain.
