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Last time we talked about my Reasons for Living list, it was to remember to pause and enjoy the simple things. The everyday parts of our lives that bring us a quiet happiness which we often take for granted. The next item on the List that I'd like to share with you begins with another memory.
My group of college friends, like most groups, had a local hang out, a coffee shop that hosted a weekly open mic night, which we attended with almost religious fervor. On the particular evening I want to tell you about, it was the height of summer and the air had been thick with humidity all day. By 7pm the sky let loose with a thundering rainstorm, the kind of sheeting, drenching storm that had everything completely soaked in microseconds. It was a slow starting kind of evening and the open mic crowd had barely started to straggle in. While waiting for things to kick off I stood at the window watching the rain with my best friend, the woman whom even my fiance calls my brain twin, for a variety of completely legitimate reasons.
I made a comment along the lines of wishing I'd brought a change of clothes, because the puddles looked perfect for jumping. My friend, we'll call her Kat, looked at me and asked why that mattered, that jumping in puddles in the middle of a thunderstorm sounded like the best idea anyone had ever had! Before I knew it I'd been dragged out into the rain, and into the middle of the street no less, to jump and splash and laugh so hard that tears streamed down my face to mix with the raindrops.
That night is forever burned into my memory, and not just because the both of us had to spend the rest of the evening attempting to dry off in a thoroughly air conditioned room. The spontaneity of our rain dance created a moment of joy that few others in my life since have surpassed, a moment of joy that I almost missed out on experiencing. For me, any good sidewalk puddle will bring back that memory, and every rainstorm reminds me that those types of spontaneous moments truly are the spice of life.
Your challenge this week? Go find your own puddle to jump in, whether literal or figurative, and then report back on the results! You can share them with us in the comments on this post, on the Delivering Happiness Facebook page, or on Twitter with the hashtag #ReasonsforLiving.
