My family is stepping into the unknown in <48 hours. Time to pay attention.
It's raining when I wake in the dark.
Heavy, loud rain.
A downpour.
It matches my mood.
I lay in bed longer because I don't want to get up and face the 'downpour' of my 'to do' list.
It's Christmas Eve.
And it's less than 48 hours until departure for a five-month journey to Mexico, Ecuador, & Guatemala.
I don't want to say goodbye to my house.
I don't want to face the unknown.
I don't want to bring order to chaos.
I don't want to book skydiving in Mexico for myself and my daughter for her 14th birthday.
I want to stay safe and warm and dry and cozy and comfortable.
I want to stay in the known.
But then I think about WHY I'm doing it.
I'm giving up the known to explore the unknown because that is where growth happens.
Outside my comfort zone is where I "encounter and entangle with [the unknown], it informs you and then you become informed, and then you're in formation."
So I get up.
I make a cup of tea, and the rainstorm continues outside, tumultuous and tempestuous.
And I think about the rain and what it represents.
Rain symbolizes sadness and grieving.
Yes, I'm feeling some of that.
As excited as I am about our coming adventures -- ancient ruins, tropical waterfalls, warm sandy beaches -- there is also grieving at leaving our home, my aunt and uncle, and my current 'known' life.
Rain signifies cleansing.
It cleans and purifies.
I can cleanse myself of the negative emotions, to wash them from my mind and heart.
I already KNOW I'm following the path the Universe wants me to follow.
I can have faith and gratitude and excitement for what the future holds.
Because rain signifies growth, rebirth, and prosperity
"As the rain cometh down... and watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater: So shall my word... accomplish that which I please, and [you] shall prosper in [the journey] whereto I send [you]."
Rain signifies acceptance of a sacrifice
In many religions, including Christianity and Hinduism, rain represents a 'gift from the gods' in return for the sacrifices made by humans.
It's an archetypal representation of a beneficial symbiotic relationship.
When I make sacrifices towards my noble aims, I will prosper and grow, and my noble aims are likely to be achieved -- or something better.
Rain makes you pay attention
You can't ignore the rain -- especially when it's a downpour.
It makes you pay attention to reality, to the present moment.
And it's when I pay attention to the present moments that I discover the truth I need to live fully and completely in each moment.
In the present moment, solutions are found; joy is felt; meaning is discovered.