before May ends ...

i was looking out my window and i realized it is almost the end of May.  i remembered having heard a tv newscaster announce that the weather bureau had already officially declared that the rainy season has now begun.  it is true, the rains had indeed come more often than before and their duration had been longer.  the sweltering heat and dryness of summer would soon be replaced by the cold and wetness of the rainy season.

i can still hear the complaints and the rants and even the curses of people who have been discomforted by the hot summer months. and yet, i know, there will also be complaints and rants and curses as soon as the rainy months kick in.  this early, there was this occasion of rain where the volume of water delivered caused flash floods in many areas.

The season has many facets.  here, in my corner of the globe, it is either summer or rainy season.  in other places, it is interchangeably winter, spring, summer, and autumn.  each brings its own challenges and color to people's lives.

the Sages and Wise Men admonish us -- whatever season we find ourselves in, we must seek joy, specifically, inner happiness.  we must find contentment.  one must not wallow in the discomfort that the season brings but rather strive to recognize the brightest colors of that season whatever shades they may be, feel the energy it offers, accept the liveliness of being it doles out, see its own beauty, listen to its unique song.

for, Life is like this.  countless are its facets.  it will offer us many ways to live.

what is certain is, no matter the way of living we are in, Inward Joy must be our lot. 

let us find the Secret Smile of the Infinite.  this is inside each of us.

before May ends, when the Sun is up and burns the paved road, i will stand by the roadside and let the  heat slide over my skin, and cause me to sweat and soak my shirt, and parch my throat and make me thirst;  i will watch the dust rise up, i will feel the dry wind singe the slender spears of grass and the green leaves of the mango tree and make brittle its branches; and i will listen to the songs of the brown rice birds ...

for Life will be different after May ends ... the rains will bring a different life ..