“Every storm runs out of rain”

I tried to apply for a grant recently, and one of the prompts of the grant was to share a contrarian argument I agree with. Although I was not awarded the grant, I knew that I wanted to share the piece I wrote in the submission here on my blog. The title of the prompt is the same as the title of this piece, and the content of the submission has been slightly modified to fit into a blog post.

“Every storm runs out of rain” is an acclaimed quote by Maya Angelou which has been makingrounds on social media recently. While this quote has been gaining traction, particularly on Instagram, its effect is however reduced by the need to understand the relationship between storm and rain. At face value, I struggled to see the value of the quote as I had very little knowledge about the mechanisms that bound the storm and rain together. So, I started to read about storms and rains.

I do not claim expertise in the comprehension of the dynamics of rains and storms after my Google lessons. However, ultimately, I think I understand that the message in the quote suggests that there is an expiration date for EVERY difficult situation. This interpretation is personal since this is what I make of the quote. I see its value as a driver of hope, perseverance, and resilience; an encouragement to endure through difficult moments. I also think that the highest value in the quote is its potential multiple applications, and its inherent openness to multiple interpretations.

Oh, and writing this blog post, I googled again the meaning of this quote by Maya Angelou, and several interpretations I found looked like mine. This makes me think of the geniuses of the human mind. Many times, I have often conceived an idea to be executed. Upon researching online, I would find several reiterations of the ideas already executed in other places, and in different forms. I know however, that this duplicity (or should I say multiplicity) of ideas does not reduce the value of the idea which I first conceived. I am instead reminded of the brilliance of the human mind, and how it works. Every single time I observe this, I credit its brilliance to God the creator of the Universe, and the endlessness of His creation. The power of His Being and His ever present awesomeness.