Downpour

I woke up this morning and looked up at the sky through the window. It was cloudy; grayish clouds dominate the sky, giving out a gloomy atmosphere all over the place. It was cloudy; yet, the sun’s extreme rays never failed to pierce its heat down my skin. But this time it just felt a bit comfortable. Maybe it’s because of the blockage of the clouds.
I was expecting for the rain to come. Everybody else was expecting that to happen too. My instinct never failed me. It rained just after noon. It was not the usual heavy rain, even though the latest typhoon storms on the news programs and on time-to-time weather forecasts. It never rained hard. It was just like a drizzle, only that raindrops were falling from all over. The rainclouds were generously pouring, but they probably took their time slowly pouring it down, just like the overrated saying, "slowly but surely."
When the rain occurs, typical things happen. People quickly open their umbrellas, whether it’s a Fibrella or just some other brand bought at the shopping center. Stray children, those usually collecting bottles - and, yes, they collect your food too, even if you haven’t eaten it yet- start to run and play, carefree despite of what illness the rain could provide them. The jeepneys would be fully filled by then, in an instant. The Toki jeepneys would then be very scarce, or probably endangered, by then.
The rain brings a sort of chaos and gloom. It would be much of a poise-less effort while the rain pours. It would require effort opening and closing an umbrella, making sure no one will be wet because of that umbrella. Even entering a jeepney in the rain requires effort too, because, of course, you will eventually finish an obstacle of wet upside-down umbrellas from both sides and ending up in the extremities, the seat behind the driver’s where you’ll be responsible for passing bills and coins, to and fro. For most people, the rain is an agony: it will do everything to ensure that you end up wet, no matter how large the circumference of your umbrella is and no matter how covered you are. For other people, usually the sensitive ones, the rain makes them sad. Probably because of the cold weather, the rain gives some people a time of their own, like a time to reflect or ponder, but only of negativities and other gloomy stuff.
However, like for kids, the rain brings joy. As I watched the children play, letting the rain make them wet, I pondered on my last time of doing the same thing. Honestly, I cannot remember it anymore but in doing so, the rain could be festive in a child’s perspective. It signifies freedom for the children, since most mothers would make sure that their children are with them at home and dry, and not "wasting time" and "doing foolishness" out in the downpour. In some places, or in farmlands in particular, the rain is much celebrated because after a hot unproductive drought, it then marks the season of productivity and wealth. The rain, in this perspective, is a blessing usually attributed from God. Then it is no wonder that most agricultural towns celebrate a big feast, whether it is a feast day of a saint or a feast of productivity, just after the rainy season started. Moreover, flowers usually bloom after the rainpour, which probably gives the sensation of happiness.
By this I went to the assumption of the new trend among Filipinos, from being optimistic to being pessimistic. We were being praised for our hospitality and generosity and happy manners, but indeed it was only applicable to the "then" times. In the "now" times, the usual Filipino would be seen without a smile worn on the face, probably burdened by the increasing cost of living and financial insufficiency. Filipinos by this time become too pragmatic and materialistic and merely practical. Surprisingly, it all started when Filipinos were educated and thought to be this liberal, thoughts opened to the possibility of failures. Indeed, no one’s to blame for this. We don’t have to blame. Blaming is only for losers. All we need to do is to change our ways.
I wish every one of us could have read books about being happy and stuff, like Andrew Matthew’s book and the Chicken Soup for The Soul series for example. By then we would find a brighter side to every flaw. By then the possibility of failures would dramatically decrease and all of us would be like children playing in the rain, without any care to whatever bad thing that may occur.
Then I lie still awake at night, listening to the sound of dripping and the faint drizzle outside my room. By this time I don’t want to have any care about whatever bad could happen. I wanna live a positive life, by starting to think positive. As what it was said to be, life is easy and carefree.