Rain: a Felicity Moment

I love the rain.

Growing up in the desert means that you rarely see rain unless its tied to a monsoon thunderstorm. “Real” snow? Not a chance. If it rained, our teachers would let us leave the classroom for a couple of minutes, just to stand in the rain. As crazy as it sounds, that was my life for the better part of eighteen years.

When I got to college and experienced the rain on a semiweekly basis, it started to lose its novelty. 

But then I made a friend that loved to just walk in the rain. I wrote about that experience a long time ago, so I will refrain from reiterating a story that is somewhat irrelevant. Basically, by the end of college, I would walk in the rain, just for fun.

It is a very “felicity” thing to walk in the rain one night and then strap on your red rain boots to jump in the puddles the next morning.

At first the rain feels uncomfortable. It feels like when a shower head turns on and sprays you in the back before you have a chance to change the temperature. This uncomfortable feeling often compels us to pull out our umbrellas, cover our heads, look towards the ground, and rush away.

But what if you didn’t do that?

What if you just walked in the rain?

My favorite moment of walking in the rain is when you are so wet that when you try to dry your eyes that all you get is water. Your hands are drenched. Your shirt is clinging to your body. Your socks are now in some puddly mess on your feet. And yet, the rain doesn’t feel so bad anymore.

You look like an idiot.

But there’s no turning back.

We are all too often afraid of what people will say when they see us donning such an unappealing appearance. We fear being judged, being laughed at, being questioned for our decisions. Walking in the rain can look like a mistake, as if we were too careless to remember our umbrella on a cloudy day.

No one seems to think that someone would actively choose to walk in the rain.

Yesterday, I chose to walk in the rain.

Earlier that day, I fell to the fear of looking foolish. I was going on a walk in the afternoon, and it was a little cloudy outside. Even though I didn’t have anywhere to go for the rest of the day, I did not want to get caught in the rain. I rushed back in to my lab and grabbed my red umbrella and continued on with my walk.

About ten minutes in to my walk, the sun came out of the clouds.

I saw many eyes look at my bright red umbrella and then look up at the sky in confusion. Yes, there are people who use an umbrella on sunny days to protect themselves from the sun, but I kept my umbrella tucked under my arm. I looked like someone who was expecting the worst when the best came instead.

Then I remembered…I love the rain.

Why, if I had nowhere else to go that day, would I not want to walk in the rain?

Because I chose to hide my foolish, fun, and felicitous self in fear, I missed out on the opportunity to either walk in the rain or walk in the sun with open arms. When we hide from what makes us truly happy for fear of others only seeing the worst, we lose a chance to be happy. However, if we take chance and not worry about what the rest of the world questions, then we have the chance to be happier…more ourselves.

And so, as the sky opened up last night to one of our bigger summer storms, I put my umbrella away.

I walked in the rain.

Two minutes in to my fifteen minute walk, I was drenched. Folks slowed their cars to ask if I wanted a ride, but I just waved them away. I could not possibly get any more wet, and I did not care if I did. I was having fun.

A giggle bubbled up to my lips and I started to laugh.

Completely free, I skipped through the giant puddles on my way back to my apartment. I couldn’t stop laughing even if I tried. The rain felt good on my skin, and my clothes were soft against my skin.

It was a completely Felicity Moment: a moment of pure happiness to bring a smile to someone’s face.

And I look forward to sharing many many more with the world.