Dancing In The Rain

Do you feel like you are in a desert, with no rain and all alone in chronic illness? What would it take to celebrate? Rain!!! Okay, so this picture is just a mirage but I really did find some serious dancing kangaroos. As in real kangaroos and real rain. They were clearly celebrating (look below for the real picture). In light of the recent fires in Australia, there is even more significance to the photo. It won awards! You will be able to feel the rain as you view it.

This is one of the coolest pictures I have seen. Two kangaroos celebrating rain to their heart’s content. And baby kanga not given a hoot!

The award for this photo was in 2014 so it didn’t have anything to do with the recent widespread fires of Australia. But it has great significance when you just look at. Soak in the rain and certainly soak in the celebration.

The little one below doesn’t seem to give a hoot who wins. Nature in all its flipping, flapping, fighting glory has been captured on camera for the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Award.

~ Herald Sun; Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Award image shows young roos in the rain

When Was the Last Time You Celebrated Rain?

I know… you are ill, you don’t have the energy or joy to even think of such nonsense… or do you…

Put on your “blue-mind” (thinking about water to relax the mind and body)…

Have you ever stood outside on a hot summer day in the rain?

Have you ever actually danced in the rain?

Do you like sitting inside during a rainstorm, with the house quiet so all you can hear is the pitter-patter on the roof?

What about thunderstorms? Do you like them as I do?

I grew up and lived in the Arizona desert for 20 years. There were only 7 stingy inches of rain a year. When the rare occasion of a rainstorm was about to prevail on me, I could smell it before its arrival. I can still smell it. I can still feel the anticipation.

It is a fun memory for me. You won’t see me outside dancing in the rain in person but I sure can get lost in the memories of rain in the dry thirsty desert.

The memory alone brings a calmness to me. I can get more still. I can take deeper breaths thinking somehow I can experience one of those storms again. Well, I no longer live in the desert. I now live in Texas with common torrential downpours. They don’t last long. They are usually short and sweet.

It was during a Texas cloud bust that my two young children sat on the porch in amazement. I clearly remember their surprise when I suggested they actually get off the porch and go into the rain, “Hurry before it ends!!” They were little at the time so of course, there was no hesitation. Soaked to the bone without a worry in the world. I can still hear their roars of laughter and see their giggles shine.

When I saw that award-winning photo of the dancing kangaroos in the rain I thought of my precious children and how much they mean to me. The memory-dance took me back to my own childhood in the Arizona desert. Both memories made all of life just perfectly okay for the moment.

At this very moment, it is dry outside. No rain and certainly no kangaroos hanging around in my yard. Still, I can feel the joy of the rainstorm memories. I can dance in my heart and find great joy, even in the midst of some remaining illness issues.

Whether you are in the depths of chronic illness or on the journey out of it, our thoughts can activate health and wellness. And I love adding water to the mix. There is something about water that is soothing. Whether it is drinking it or dancing in it outside, it calms my spirit and builds my health.

When you take your shower today, do a dance in your private rainstorm, sing a song of joy. This is a chronic illness blog so I am assuming you are ill and tired of it at this point. Keep moving forward any way you can. Find joy in a “blue mind.”

Blue Mind Movement

Join Dr. Jay Wallace at Blue Mind to understand and enjoy the emotional and physical benefits of water in our lives.

• Book – Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do
• Video – Blue Mind in the Desert | Dr. Wallace J. Nichols | TEDx
• About – Dr. J. Nichols about
• Series – Blue Mind Health

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