As I was riding my bicycle in a steady rain on Sunday, I was reminded that there is no guarantee for sunshine. Out of curiosity I did Google "where do they guarantee sunshine?" Surprisingly there are some entities who will. Priceline has a sunshine guarantee for booking at certain locations for a minimal amount of time. An UK outfit, Oliver's Travels has a guarantee that they can destroy rainclouds so that you will have a perfectly sunny day for your outdoor event. Of course it will cost you $150,000 but 24 hours before your big event they will fly planes through the clouds above your event area dispersing a chemical called silver iodine. The clouds will burst into rain so presumably the next day will be beautiful. Sounds like a hoax to me and makes me wonder about the environment.

Basically there are no guarantees with weather. So, if there are no guarantees for sunshine, wouldn't the converse be true? There are no guarantees for rain? Why do we have the tendency to think that it will rain more than be sunny? Shouldn't it be equally true? One could argue that there is always a possibility of rain, but I would argue that there is always the possibility for sun.

When we are honest about it, isn't it good to have the variety of weather? I am sure my San Diego, California friends would differ, but I think I might get sick of sun if that is what I experienced all the time. ( I know, hard to believe I would even think that, much less put that thought on paper due to my love of the sunshine.)

Rain has so many positive attributes: provides water for the earth and all its inhabitants; washes away air and soil impurities; provides a thriving environment for plants; molds and shapes the environment, etc. Certainly when one has rain, clouds and damp, day upon day, it can get depressing. Although I know individuals who love that type of weather and thrive in it. They look forward to rainy days.

Because there is no surety for sunny days, we should not be surprised when the rainy ones occur. Yet, when they do, like this past Sunday, we have a choice- be totally bummed out about it and scurry around to change plans or just go for it and continue on. I am glad that we pressed on and decided to ride. If we had changed our plans, we would've missed out on the shared experience. It was memorable and we will always be able to say that we did it.

Are you going through a patch of rainy weather? Does it seem like the sunshine in your life will never break through the clouds? Hang in there. Just as surely the physical clouds roll by and the sun rays shine forth, your troubles will pass.

I am trying to look at life with the sun/cloud perspective: I know that rainy days will occur and that they are needed. But, there are just as many possible sunny days too. And isn't that good?