Returning to the Age of Innocence

June 1, 2006... a day I will never forget. It is the day I skipped Quantitative Methods class.

Now I skip classes all the time, but today was special... in fact it was simply Magical. You see it had been cloudy and gloomy all day, almost omnious you could say. 5:40 rolled around, and as if I didn't have enough reason to not want to go to class, it began raining outside! I grudgingly got into my car and headed for class. As I traveled down route 18 it started to rain harder, and I could just feel a storm coming our way!

I ended up arriving to class late as usual, and the doors were closed. As I grabbed the handle, I could hear a thunderous clap outside, and I paused... "Do I really want to do this?," I reminded myself "I do have a choice... I can go to class or I can go out and have fun in the rain." "Classes are practically everyday, but storms don't come often!" I began to reason to myself (little did I know they would indeed come often this season). I knew I had homework to hand in and that our professor would likely give us a quiz, but I really didn't want to sit in there for 3 hours passing up on this opportunity, so decided to take a chance. Grades aren't important to me, and besides, sometimes you just need to let go and live a little!

So I slung on my backpack and ran out the door straight to my car. At this point it started pouring, and I was drenched before I even got to my car! When I got back, I stripped down and threw on a pair of swim trunks and running sandals. I did a quick stretch and then immediately bolted out the door. First I ran behind the College Ave Gym to catch a clear view. It was amazing... the sky lit up a beautiful shade of royal purple every 5 seconds. As people drove by, I'm sure they wondered "What the hell is this kid doing out here!?" But I didn't care, I was caught up in the moment enjoying the sights and sounds of the storm. I decided to run over to Buccleuch Park. I wondered if there would be any other adventurous ones over there. When I got there, I found a older man running towards me. I waved, and he waved, and then he quickly hurried to his car. Seems like he was leaving for the best part! If I could describe how hard it was raining at this point, I would have to say it was likely somewhere past cats and dogs.

I started running laps around the park, and then halfway through, I decided I'd rather be running around in the field, like a kid dancing in the rain. I then thought back to when we were all children... when everyone we able to have all the fun in the world getting wet and dirty. Why couldn't it be that way anymore? Is it because we're afraid of getting our clothes dirty? Is it because we don't want to mess up our hair? Or was it that we had lost our care-free playful innocence that allowed us to have fun without worrying about consequences like getting dirty. In that moment, I felt sad, but then I realized it doesn't have to be this way. Right now I am here running in the rain having the time of my life! I quickly raised my arms high in the air, turned my head up towards the sky to feel the raindrops on my face, and then I yelled out of the top of my lungs. As the rain poured down on me, and my thoughts melted away, I could feel myself, for the first time, returning to the age of innocence... I was free again! With a new set of eyes, I looked around me, I smiled, and then darted across the field and ran.

I ran two more laps around the Park and then stopped in front of one of the Baseball fields. I went up on the benches and sprawled out across the top bleachers. As I laid there, I listened to the sound of the thunder and I focused on the feeling of the warm rain pouring on me. I felt a deep sense of peace in me. "This is it," I said to myself. "This is the beauty of life, right here, right now." It was never computers, TV, or drugs & alcohol that brought happiness in our lives, it was always the simple things that we often forget. In that spot, being surrounded by nature with all the amazing elements, my eyes were opened and I was reminded of the beauty of simplicity... and in those moments I wasn't thinking about e-mails, voicemail, homework assignments, or the next episode of Real World; all those we're a but an insignificant memory in the backdrop of the ever-present now, displayed by the beauty, elegance and grace of nature all around me. It was like a miracle was occuring right before me, and yet Mother Nature was just being herself. While that day may have been just a normal day for some, it will remain a special day that I will never forget. I actually ended up getting an A in my Quant class, and to this very day I continue to run in storms every chance I get. To those who ask why, I simply smile and say, "You'd have to try it sometime to know why"

To all those who seek adventure and seek something different, cheers!
Cheers to the simple things in life, cheers to nature, and cheers to never forgetting how to have fun like a Child. ~ Namaste