{"id":2963,"date":"2016-09-11T08:41:35","date_gmt":"2016-09-11T08:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/astraea.net\/blog\/?p=2963"},"modified":"2017-01-24T13:28:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T13:28:00","slug":"the-waterfall-and-the-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astraea.net\/blog\/the-waterfall-and-the-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"The Waterfall and The Rain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The waterfall is heard before you see it.\u00a0 The thunderous torrent crashing on the rocks resounds about the valley.<\/p>\n

\"niagra03\"<\/a>As you approach, the mist becomes visible, as vapour bubbles up from the torrent.\u00a0 The spray blows far and wide so that when you come close you are soon soaked.\u00a0 From close up you can barely see the path of the waterfall as the clouds of mist and spray obscure its fall.\u00a0 Yet you can feel the reverberation through the ground.<\/p>\n

The waterfall is mighty! People come from far and wide to see the waterfall. It is celebrity.\u00a0 People want to be like the waterfall, strong, impressive, powerful.<\/p>\n

But strangely the waterfall does little more than make noise and spit before the water passes on calmly through the valley.<\/p>\n

\"rain02\"<\/a>And then there is the rain.\u00a0 A drop here, a drop here.\u00a0 Sometimes barely noticed other times an inconvenience.\u00a0 It is not significant.\u00a0 People are rarely impressed by it.\u00a0 More often they hide from the rain.<\/p>\n

Yet it is the rain that brings life.\u00a0 The rain that cleans the earth and waters the plants.\u00a0 Rain is the bounty that we yearn for when it has not come for a while.\u00a0\u00a0 It is the rain that makes the waterfall and nourishes the plants around the waterfall.\u00a0 Without the rain, there is no waterfall.<\/p>\n

Surely it is the rain that is celebrity, not the waterfall.<\/p>\n

Yet we are confused.\u00a0 We go out of our way and spend money to see the waterfall, but we hide from the rain.<\/p>\n

That is the problem with our culture.\u00a0 We praise the big, blustery noise maker, impressive as he is, while shunning the small guy that touches us with life and love.\u00a0 While we laud the celebrity, we forget the people, including our friends and family.\u00a0 The consequence is a hole in the ground and a parched soul.<\/p>\n

Are you The Waterfall or The Rain?<\/p>\n

Spare a moment for the people around you.\u00a0 And love your mum, not the egomaniac on the magazine cover.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The waterfall is heard before you see it.\u00a0 The thunderous torrent crashing on the rocks resounds about the valley. As you approach, the mist becomes visible, as vapour bubbles up from the torrent.\u00a0 The spray blows far and wide so that when you come close you are soon soaked.\u00a0 From close up you can barely …
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