It’s raining today. Now where I was born and raised, the San Francisco Bay area, rain is a common occurrence this time of year. But I’m not in my own briar patch. I’m in the desert in Lake Havasu, Arizona. It doesn’t rain much here at all, many winters we’ve stayed here and seen no measurable precipitation for the whole season. So everyone makes much of the rain. Activity stops. People don’t venture out to take exercise classes, attendance is poor, and the class numbers are down.
All this brings me to think about the value we place on the common events in our lives. Do you put great store by your opportunity to exercise? Do you regard it as a special event? If barriers are placed in the way, i.e. it rains, is cold, windy or otherwise difficult, do you see that as a challenge, or an excuse to stay home?
So much has to do with attitude. As one of the other instructors pointed out, when the weather is rainy, the only ones who brave the flooding culverts and slippery pavement are the ones in wheelchairs, walkers or crippled with arthritis. They know how important consistency is with exercise, and will make every effort to come to their workout, no matter what the difficulty. As for the others, they stay at home watching television or playing cards waiting for the weather to improve, which of course it will, leaving them with or without their daily requirement of movement.
So it’s raining today, what will you do with the rain? Put on your puddle boots, slickers and rain hats and go out to walk through the puddles, as my grandchildren love to do? Will you take your morning walk in a mall, or go visit a health club or Jazzercise site to see what that’s all about?
Rainy days are opportunities; whether they are rare or common, accept the gift of moisture. I can’t wait until the wildflower season, when all this rain will produce an eye-popping treat right out of the barren gravel, dirt, and rock of the desert floor. Give me those rain boots, I’m off for a puddle stomp, want to come?
