Rain Jacket

“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.” – John Updike

Against my natural instinct to not go out in the rain, I put on a rain jacket to get the girls for an end of day walk after another meeting-packed day. My last meeting yesterday was with a client who I’ve worked with for 12-years who is merging with another organization, so it was my last meeting with them. It was another good-bye. This has been a year filled with good-byes – of people, of activities we enjoy doing, of “normal” living.

Life often feels like series of good-byes and transitions. Our natural instinct is to avoid, run and hide from them like going into the rain. If we live well, we weave experiences, places and people through our fiber. They become a part of us so when things change, a piece of us is carved out of our being and we are never the same. But that is not the end of the story.

On the other side of good-byes are fresh hellos and adventures waiting to be entered when we cross the threshold of what has been to what is next. If we keep looking backwards, we miss what’s already present and what the past has prepared us for in new paths to explore. Life is a year-round classroom. We decide if we are going to learn and grow or do just enough to get a C+ by coasting unaware, stuck and dry in sameness.

Endings and beginnings are a package deal. If we allow, we concurrently enter the depth of departure and embrace the anticipation of new adventures. As a door closes, it prompts the next door to open. Often, it disguises itself as rain, so put on your rain jacket and get out into the rain, crossing the threshold to abundance and light.