Heard of a raindance? It is a ritual used by native shamen to influence the heavens. It is a bit like bending spoons, you have to believe in something that goes against your normal perceptions of reality. Bit like a sceptic or a mystic, both will see what they believe. In the polarity of life, both sceptic and mystic are needed for balance. A bit like good and bad weather. Each one is relative to the other. Too much sun causes a desert. Too much rain causes a flood.

So what, you ask?

The same principles of the raindance can apply to being happy or unhappy. Do a rain-dance to change your moods. Look for the little teardrops to soften a hardened heart? Find the tiny sunbeam when you only see dark clouds of despair. Find the dance within you. Believe in the magic inside you. Feel it happening. Then see it happen. Some people are conditioned to seeing the worst in life. They will turn good fortune into potential misfortune within a couple of words. Do you know such people? I once knew a successful woman who managed to darken a bright day quite quickly. You might know someone like this.

"How are things going today?", I asked her over a cuppa.

She proceeded to fill the whole conversation with a series of moans. Staff problems, cannot find good staff ... big moan. My husband has serious control problem ... big moan. Her car needed a tune-up ... big moan.

I start laughing.

Her face reddens. "What is so $%#*&^ funny?"

I said, "You are one miserable #$%^^&^@. Your problems are someone's dreams right now. Get a grip. You have a business. You have a husband. You have a car. A Tsunami victim right now probably has no home or is still missing. Right now someone is on life support in your local hospital. Their family is crying and holding hands outside in the waiting room. So stop your &^%$^^^%^ moaning and start being grateful".

She stared at me. My words sinking in. Icy silence. Then she started to laugh. A small laugh at first. Soon we were both laughing. Sometimes we all need some honest feedback that cuts straight through to the core.

Life is never going to be perfect. Life is what we make of it right NOW. We've have all been miserable, and we've all been happy. Guess what? We will continue to experience misery and happiness. We need to keep it in perspective like the weather. It does not mean we need to be happy 24/7/365 days a year. It would be too much of a strain. Aim to be happy most of the time. Yet allow time for unhappiness. Allow time for feeling pain, grief, sadness and loneliness. These are all part of the wheel of life. Just make sure to keep the wheel turning rather than getting stuck in the same ole muddy patch.

So do a rain-dance. Do something to change your state of mind. Jump up and down. Make it rain tears of laughter.

Copyright 2005 Hirini Reedy