5 Myths Our Culture Taught Us About Rain

It is atypical for a tropical nation to make a big hoo-ha out of a single occurrence of rain, except that this time round it is the first time in almost a month that we are welcoming back something which we have all taken granted for in a long time. Seeing the many exclamations and thanksgivings on Facebook prompted me to write this post. I'm a rain-fanatic, and I love the romantic feeling of being drenched in a rain. It gives me the thrill, the wondrous magical feel, the freedom, and the space to just be myself. But growing up, rain seemed to always have been portrayed as the bad guy that we should shun, and I think it's time to return some justice to the much maligned rain- it's only when we lose it (albeit only for a short one-month duration) then we realize how we have relied on it.

1. Rain is bad

I have no idea how childhood went for most, but for me rain-day meant home-day, which also meant no-fun-day. Many parents placed an unspoken house rule upon the children, and barred them from going out. Some even went as far as to intimidate the youngsters, rain causes you to fall sick, bad things happen in the rain, rain makes it dangerous to be outside etc.

However as we grow older, we learn to appreciate light drizzle a little bit more, and sometimes would even prefer a stroll in the cooling weather over trudging through under a scorching tropical sun. 

2. Rain is sad

We equate down moments in our lives to the rainy seasons, and we console those around us that the storm will pass and there is always a rainbow after a heavy downpour. While there is some truth in this saying because some things do indeed become tougher when it's done in the rain (such as moving house), why not learn to dance in the rain? It's all about perspective-taking that runs against the need to be fast and effective- recall the last musical you watched, what happened when there is a heavy downpour? Yes, they sing and dance!

By the way, breakups, accidents, and everything unfortunate don't just happen when it rains. Soap opera dramatizes that so badly to the extent there is almost a positive correlations between the two already. When they say heaven cries, why can't that be tears of joy? 

3. Rain causes us to fall sick

Another one of my personal dislikes. Growing up, the older ones always like to nag about how we would fall sick if we are caught in the rain. When I was much younger, I ever wondered why. Are there any flu viruses in the rain?Especially those moments when the sun and the rain co-existed, my parents always warned me against getting myself caught in a 太阳雨 (sun-rain) because that would get me a fever. As a result, sun-rain was a taboo in my childhood and I would wash my hand if I ever came into contact with one of those raindrops, I'm not kidding. 

This is another instance of blame-pushing: justifying our laziness to take care of ourselves (wiping ourselves dry, taking warm shower etc.) by putting a convenient blame label on rain. Being drenched in a rain is really not so different from not drying ourselves properly after taking a nice cold shower!

4. Rain spoils the best plans

What's the other name for contingency plans for most events? Wet-weather plans. Many of us go about our lives thinking that the rain is out to spoil all our plans which we have put in place- birthday party, outdoor wedding ceremony, soccer games, BBQ etc. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. 

Now, after 1 month of  drought, is the rain out to spoil our days, or is it an aide to our daily living? Try incorporating rain into our plans, I think it'd be awesome!

5. Bad things happen when it rains (crime)

Good things happen in rain too! 

1 Kings 18:41

"Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” "