By Shaina Shaoolian, Staff Writer
I used to think rain was only beautiful when I didn’t have somewhere to be.
Last year, I was walking to class when it suddenly started pouring. I didn’t have an umbrella, my jacket was getting soaked and I immediately grew frustrated. I remember thinking, “This rain is disgusting. I wish it would just stop.”
Then I caught myself.
Why was I complaining about something people pray for? Rain is a blessing, yet the second it became inconvenient for me, I wanted it gone. Not even two minutes later, someone walked up to me and offered his umbrella.
“You look like you need this more than I do,” he said. “I’m getting on the subway anyway, and you’re still walking. Take it.”
At first, I said no. But he insisted, so I took it. As I kept walking, I couldn’t stop thinking about the timing. The second I stopped complaining and thanked God for the rain, a complete stranger appeared and gave me exactly what I needed.
This moment stuck with me not because a stranger gave me his umbrella, but because it made me realize how quickly we decide that something is “bad” simply because it interrupts our plans. A little rain or a delayed train can ruin our morning. Somewhere along the way, life became scheduled and so rushed that even a small inconvenience can feel bigger than it is.
But what if the thing we are complaining about is not actually the problem?
That day, nothing about the rain changed. It did not suddenly stop pouring because I changed my attitude. I was still wet, I was still walking to class and I still would have preferred an umbrella from the beginning. The only thing that changed was my perspective.
I think we do this more often than we realize. The train is late, someone cancels plans, we get stuck in traffic or something does not work out the way we pictured it. Our first reaction is usually frustration. We immediately decide the situation is bad because it is not what we wanted.
And sometimes, maybe it is bad. I do not think every inconvenience needs to turn into some huge life lesson. But I do think we are very quick to judge a moment before we even know how it is going to play out.
If it had not rained that day, I probably would have walked to class without thinking twice about it. I would not have met that stranger. I would not have experienced that random act of kindness. And I definitely would not still be thinking about an ordinary walk to class a year later.
That is what I find so interesting about it. The part of my day that I wanted to disappear ended up becoming the part I remembered.
We spend so much time expecting things to go the way we planned. We want the train to be on time, the weather to be nice and our day to go exactly how we pictured it. But sometimes the moments we remember most are the ones we never planned for.
I still do not love getting caught in the rain. I am probably still going to complain when my train is delayed and I am running late. But I try to catch myself before deciding that one inconvenient moment has ruined my day.
Because sometimes we do not know what can come from the things we are so quick to wish away.
Maybe the rain was never the problem.
Photo Credit: Unsplash