I was thirteen when I first visited Ghana. I was tagging along with my dad while he had various speaking engagements. Most of these were in the evenings, leaving plenty of free time during the day.

The time of year we were there mean that, like clockwork, there was a thirty minute tropical downpour every afternoon.

This was when I chose to go out to walk and explore the area each day.

There’s was something delightful about being outside in 30C plus temperatures while the rain came down torrentially. I found it invigorating. It helped that, once the skies had emptied, the sun was instantly back out and I was dry well before getting back to the hotel. 

More recently, on holiday in Switzerland, my wife I went out for dinner one evening while my parents were looking after our girls. By the time we needed to walk back to our apartment, it was raining like we were in the tropics. Instead of taking the quickest route back though, we chose the extended route. We got drenched to the bone!

But, again, there was something thrilling about being out in the elements like this! 

We've reached a point in our evolution as humans where we try to micro-manage and control every aspect of our lives. Sometimes it takes being at the mercy of the elements to remind us that there is lots of life that is totally beyond our ability to master—and that's perfectly okay. 

It reminds us—in a good way—how small we are too.

Devastating as the storms have been for many in the UK this last week, there’s something healthy about the reminder the elements can deliver. 

We are not fully in control. There will always be aspects to life that we can never control.

And that’s normal. And perfectly okay.

—Sam

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@samradford | samradford.com