I was walking along Chiswick Mall this afternoon, with the winding Thames on my right - it's a good 25 minute walk to Hammersmith, but I enjoy the space it allows between the working day, and my journey home. There's a man who feeds the pigeons in the same spot, and we sometimes say hello and chat about the weather. They have become quite tame around him - the one who feeds them I guess.
So today it was a little bit rainy at first - and then it cleared for a while. A woman was walking towards me, coming from the direction I was heading into. She had her umbrella open, and her face was wrought almost as if she was fighting a strong wind, while trying to keep her umbrella open. Tired of this rain rain rain was what her expression was telling me when I caught her eye.
Yet, she did not realise that it had stopped raining, perhaps some time ago already - she was holding on so tightly to the umbrella and what she thought was happening outside the safe shelter of it ... made me think about life, and how sometimes we hold onto things so tightly, our fists white around the knuckles from not letting go - so tightly that we don't realise that things, that feeling, that situation - has changed and no longer serves us anymore, things have changed, our circumstances have changed, we have changed through it, and perhaps have grown through it - the rain has stopped - and its ok to let go, to drop the umbrella
Made me smile to myself - as I could relate to this so well in the here and now - how we can sometimes get so caught up in our own rain and thunderstorms - we forget to even check if its still raining outside - and we miss the sunshine and that soft breeze after a summers downpour - and that's when I suddenly realised that it had in fact started to rain again - but without my realising until my face was drenched with the gentle drops falling from the sky, and my hair I could feel was big as a lion's maine ....
Again - I could not help but smile, as even in this I could take something away from it. Like the woman with the umbrella - we should learn to know when to let go, and when to seek shelter. And like me walking along so deep in thought I did not realise it was raining again - don't get so used to your situation, your frustration, your anxiety - that you don't even realise that it is getting you soaked soaked to the bone - and if you're not careful, if you walk in the rain for too long without an umbrella you'll catch a chill....
Lastly - I also learnt this - I do not know where the woman was coming from, I did not know her journey - perhaps there was a rainstorm up ahead that's waiting for me, and she has just passed through it - when we do not know the facts we can not make any assumptions - but we can learn from others - if I took note, I would've gotten my raincoat ready - cause obviously where she was coming from, and where I was heading to - there was a whole lotta rain falling from the sky....
What is your take on it - what can you take away from this? Certainly interesting when life can start teaching us little gems in our normal day to day life - and so delighted that I can share this with you...
I thought this beautiful print was rather apt - its by Joana Kruse and its called
'Woman on the street'
Image via Pinterest
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