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Monday, August 26, 2019

Into Each Life


On this cloudy, rainy August day, I thought about the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow quote, “Into each life, some rain must fall.” It seems that sometimes the rain falls harder than it does at other times.

Last year, our Walk to End Alzheimer’s was during a steady downpour. We had rain at previous walks, but never a constant deluge like last year. Although the Highway Gardens at the Missouri State Fairgrounds is a lovely place to hold our walk, the grounds turned into a mud pit. Tents and tables sank into the mud and turned over. I couldn’t take my books out of the tubs.

Although, we handled the weather as well as could be expected, it inspired us to get off our keisters and look for a location that had some shelter. This year, for the first time, we chose Centennial Park and a different weekend.

When you hold an annual outdoor event, it isn’t a matter of if it will rain on that special day, but when it will rain. The same holds true for life. Rain happens.

Gully washers happen during our darkest moments. We hear the rolling thunder and feel sharp pangs of lightning bolts when they strike our hearts. Clouds seem to hang over our heads blocking out the sunshine that should warm our souls. Flash floods threaten to wash away our optimism and feelings of self worth.

Then we have the steady downpours. Just when we think we’re between showers, it starts up again soaking us to the bone. Then a cold wind blows away our defenses and we might as well be naked as wrapped in wet garments. We get to the point where we just can’t take anymore. At some point, a little droplet of rain can be the tipping point.

During scattered showers, we can dash from thought to action and never get wet. If all fails, we can throw on a rain jacket and pop up an umbrella. We know that scattered showers replenish our spirits and blossoms into a bright array of color. During scattered showers, we realize that rain is essential to life and that without it, we, and everything we love, would die. Then the sun breaks through the clouds and we remember that “a sunshiny shower won’t last half an hour.”

A half hour isn’t long and most of us can remain optimistic for that length of time. Life is different degrees of rain, but rain is essential to life.

Photo credit: Jessica Buesing, The Scarlett Lens

Copyright © August 2019 by L.S. Fisher
#ENDALZ

1 comment:

  1. nice article very impressive some poetry is there but very dangerous Alzheimers make individual need of care

    ReplyDelete