When It Rains It Pours (MY Eng #49)

This is part of a running series about English idioms - less about language, more about life itself. Previously, we covered 'missing the woods for the trees', 'the elephant in the room', 'practising what you preach', blowing hot and cold', 'no smoke without fire', 'one swallow does not make a summer', 'apples and oranges', 'cut to the chase', 'leave no stone unturned', 'that's the way the cookie crumbles', 'can't have your cake and eat it too', 'old is gold', 'putting the cart before the horse', 'mountain out of a molehill', 'pot calling the kettle black', 'bite the bullet', 'go the extra mile', 'silence is golden', 'the devil is in the details', 'sink or swim', 'once bitten twice shy', 'don't count your chickens before they hatch', 'don't put all your eggs into one basket', 'chicken and egg', 'walking on eggshells', 'flogging a dead horse', 'better late than never', 'storm in a teacup', 'between a rock and a hard place', 'darkest before dawn', 'empty vessels make the most noise', 'birds of a feather flock together', 'separate the wheat from the chaff', 'let sleeping dogs lies', 'open a can of worms', 'light at the end of the tunnel', 'trial and error', 'look before you leap', 'lightning in a bottle', 'on the same page', don't judge a book its cover', 'reinvent the wheel', 'shifting gears', 'throwing in the towel', 'jump on the bandwagon', 'passing the buck', 'breaking the ice' and 'cracking the code'.

There are moments in life where absolutely nothing interesting happens. Routine. Boredom. Business as usual.

And suddenly, all hell breaks loose. Deadlines keep piling up. Unexpected breaking news. There's a new sheriff in town laying down new rules and showing no mercy to rule-breakers. Panic sets in.

Funny how life works, eh? The morning starts off all hot and sunny. Then, without warning, dark clouds gather and...

* * *

If we're lucky, the rain starts with a slight drizzle, giving us plenty of time to seek shelter. But sometimes, the rain just pours and pours...

Being caught in a storm outside without an umbrella is terrible luck. Water reaches dangerously close to the waist. And you're at risk of drowning.

Then again, a flash flood tends to strike fast, and seep away equally fast. So as long as you've reached high grouond, you're able to weather the storm.

* * *

Trouble never just rains, but pours. The trick is to turn problems into opportunities. So that our 101 problems don't look too bad, after all.

I'm still stuck in the storm. Angry thunder scorches the skies. People scrambling over each other to reach the lifeboats.

But I am calm. Where others feel fear, I only feel peace.

For when the rain pours, I recite the Litany of Fear: "I will not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. I will face my fear. I will let it pass through me. When the fear has gone, there shall be nothing. Only I will remain."