We celebrated a nice Thanksgiving here in China with other members of our church group. As part of our tradition, we went around the room and told one thing for which we are grateful. One of the women quite surprised me when she answered "Rain." I've always told my husband that I felt I could live in Washington State where it rains almost every day. But after living here in Wuhan, where it rains several times a week, I have decided I don't enjoy the rain as much as I thought. It's not just the wet and cold, it's also the gloom. I think part of what makes it gloomy is the air pollution. If there were no air pollution, I think the rain could be quite cheerful. So when this woman mentioned rain as the one thing for which she was thankful, I was taken aback.
What she said next was the part that was meaningful to me. She said, "I like the rain because I feel like it cleans things. Not only does the ground get clean, but the air pollution gets cleaned out as well. Also I just got new rain boots, and I love the chance to jump in puddles." As she said this, I suddenly began to grateful for the rain too! China is a dirty place, and the ground is often so dirty that you wouldn't want to sit on it. People here spit on the ground. Children urinate on the ground. People throw trash, or empty their noodle soup on the ground. Sometimes the sewer over flows on to the ground. The air pollution also coats the ground. It's just not a clean place. But the thought of the rain falling and washing away the filth is a wonderful thought to me. And she is right about the air. After a good rain, the air is clearer. I will look at the rain differently from now on.
So at this thanksgiving time, I too am grateful for the rain. I wonder what the other consortium members will have to say about rain.
Rummuser, Anu, Ashkok, Gaelikka, Grannymar, , Padmum, Magpie11, andAkanksha,Will Knot, Maria the Silver Fox, Anki, Nema Noor Paul Plain Joe, and Rohit, The Old Fossil, our newest member MAXI! and last, but not least SHACKMAN! :)
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7 comments:
My youngest brother (YB) has lived in Melbourne, Australia for over thirty years. I remember him talking about dancing in the rain after a long dry summer of extreme heat. He collected rainwater to make tea and he said it tasted like he remembered tea in Ireland.
Some years ago he was home on holiday and travelling to the west of Ireland with eldest Brother(EB). EB apologised for the persistent dull wet weather. YB asked him to pull over and got out of the car. He danced along the road enjoying the rain.
EB said he would never complain about rain again!
Your post reminds me of living in Pittsburg, PA, long ago when the steel mills were still spewing out coal dust and fumes. The rains washed out the air and made things fresh again.
I have always loved rain. For one thing, you don't have to shovel it. :0) But I am even grateful for snow, because we need the watershed.
Omg D, never have I been so grateful to live in Central Florida, US as this moment. It is sunny, mild and beautiful. Everything is clean and fresh; everywhere I look I see nature's beauty.
Blessings to you ~ Maxi
The idea of rain as a cleaning agent is a predominant thought in India too. I think that I had understated that emotion in my post.
It sounds like rain refreshes the place, the people and their spirits where you are.
After living so long in a place that is dry and then moving to Ireland for almost 2 years, I grew to love the rain there. I've always loved rain, and I loved every minute of it there. We never let the rain stop us, but we didn't bother with umbrellas. They didn't work because the wind would just blow them inside out. We would just put on raincoats and rainhats (or scarves) and go!
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