2014 – another first of the first. This time in London UK. Woke up late to cold and the type of miserable rain that makes one want to close the curtains and snuggle further under the duvet. I have experienced the first of January in many countries – New Zealand, India, Thailand, London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
New Zealand is full of childhood memories. New Year on the beach, waking up to the warmth, holidays and exciting times ahead. Rain for me was always disappointing; chilling the air, making playing outside uncomfortable. It was usually a welcome break to the long hot summer days, but not being a farmer or relying on rain for my well being, I considered it a nuisance and a reminder of the cold bleak winter days that would always follow.
Asia changed my perception of rain. My first summer rain was in Cambodia, a very brief shower, warm, skin tingling and it seemed to freshen and brighten the whole countryside. Since then I have experienced many Asian rains, from the torrential monsoons in Mumbai, flash flooding in New Delhi, sudden downpours in Thailand and the more gentle misty rain in Sri Lanka. For some reason these Asian rains seemed more uplifting, warmer and were welcome as a cleanser and cooler for the dust and heat baked countryside. The sign of cooler times ahead always was welcomed rather than dreaded. The rain was always more comfortable, less cold albeit it often flooded,the damp and mould always evident in tropical cities. Maybe its the fact that rain in Asia is usually confined to the monsoon season, a sign of the break of the relentless heat, the upcoming cool season and once over it won’t come back for months .
Back to the first of the first. As I grow older and travel more I look for more firsts. I grew up believing what I saw and what I was told to be true and for many of my formative years it was. Christmas came every year, the New Year was always on the 1st of January, summer followed spring which came after winter which was preceded by autumn, rain was always cold. Simple things, simple beliefs until I started meeting people that had never celebrated Christmas, whose New Year was on a different day and who had never experienced cold rain. Simple things but so different.
Now I look for the differences, actively seek them out, questioning my own beliefs, looking for first of the firsts and not just on the first of January. Any day can be a first, in fact it is. Every morning a new morning, every rain is different, whether it be warm or cold, every person is different moulded by their own upbringing’s, their own experiences.
Today is the 1st of January 2014, the rain outside is cold but I am grateful that I have a warm duvet and someone I love to snuggle into. I have many resolutions, the usual suspects around, eating habits and fitness but more and more I am looking both within as well as outside for those simple experiences I don’t even know exist yet, like the joy in warm rain.