A Year of Rain and Rainbows

“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

What a year! I don't know about you, but it's been a year of new challenges and change on all fronts!

As I reflect on the past year, I can see that this year was both stressful and satisfying, anxiety-provoking and fulfilling. Many people believe that it can only be one or the other—you are either happy or sad, perfect or imperfect, selfish or selfless, successful or a failure, stressed or relaxed but the reality is all of these thoughts and feelings are part of the human experience.

Dolly Parton said it best,

“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

So how do you put up with the rain:

• Accept the rain rather than fear it or judge it

• Understand that the rain serves a very useful function—remember we need both rain and sunshine to grow, to survive, and to thrive

• Learn to effectively respond to the rain--always avoiding it is not the answer.

• Recognise when you need to protect yourself from it in a major downpour and how to safely seek cover in a thunderstorm

• Remember to notice the rainbow (and the trees and the flowers and the sunshine…)

So thank you 2019 for the rain and the rainbows.

Have a wonderful holiday season & here’s to the opportunities ahead in 2020!