Learn to dance in the rain

Hey everyone! This is Dione from After the Rain Arts Therapy. The lover of art journaling. The person who raves on and on about the positive benefits of art and the life lessons you can learn! That’s me

A favourite saying

I wanted to share an art journalling page with you. I think I’ve probably already talked about this saying, before. It’s the one that the name of my business ‘After the Rain’ comes from. Or one of them. I’ve got a few of them. But this is one and I think I’ve talked to you about it before. So I’m not going go on and on.

Learn to dance in the rain

Don’t wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain. Here is one of the art journalling pages I’ve done on this saying.  I’ve done it a few times because I love it so much.

Why do I love it so much?

Firstly, we cannot wait.  Things will not get magically better. We can’t fix everything before we can start doing the important wonderful things – the changing growing things, like dancing!  We can’t wait until we’re skinny, until the kids grow up, until people start taking care of themselves, until we get that better job, until we have this house/car/holiday before doing the things that will bring joy and make our lives the wonderful lives we dream of.

Often it is those things that will bring the changes we are hoping for.  Doing the things will get us to the place where we think we need to be in order to enjoy them.  That is so circular, its inception-like! What’s the point Dione?  We cannot wait!

Then there’s the dancing

The second reason I love this one is the dancing.  For me dancing is one of those things that brings joy.   I hated dancing when I was a teen, because I was overweight, anxious, awkward, terribly lacking in confidence and hated the thought of anyone looking at me.  A lot of that came from sexual abuse – but that’s a whole other blog.

So when I studied dance movement therapy in my Master’s program at Whitecliffe, and coincidentally had gastric bypass surgery at the same time and lost about half of my body weight, I discovered the absolute joy of moving my body.  I don’t claim to actually be a dancer.  Just someone who loves to dance – not nearly often enough.  

Don’t wait

Don’t wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance right now! In the rain! Find a way to do those things that you NEED, that will bring joy and growth, NOW, while the worst days of your life are happening!

What is your ‘dancing’? Maybe it’s not dancing for you, maybe it’s writing. There are so so many possibilities.  Maybe you need a kick start. So here is my brainstorm of possible things that you might be secretly longing to do (maybe you don’t even admit it to yourself)  and are putting off until the time is right.  

• get a pet
• enter that competition
• join the gym
• learn to do that thing
• say no
• say yes
• take a risk
• accept yourself exactly how you are