You would think, perhaps as children, some of us might not have been present when
the lesson on preparing for a rainy day was being discussed. Or perhaps, not all might
not have heard as a young child, the children story about the ant and the grasshopper
from Aesop’s Fables. For whatever reason, be it figuratively or in the literal sense, the
end result of no heeding such lesson, will always end in failure. And there’s no lucky
breaks on this one.
If to you, ‘preparing for a rainy day’ meant saving some extra money so you would have
something extra during cases of emergencies or other eventualities, we all know the
consequences when we give that lesser priority.
If however, in the literal sense, it meant really preparing for the actual coming of the
rainy days, then woe to those who ignore the signs, as they are very much a regular
occurrence in our part of the world. Quite interesting, I might have written about what a
Swiss doctor once told me during an old conversation about us, Asians. He observed
that because we did not have the four seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall, we
were generally prone to procrastinate or leave some chores for the morrow. To them, he
said, if they failed to plan and prepare during the warm summer (plus autumn) months,
they would all most likely be in much trouble when the winter months comes. Make hay
while the sun shines, at least that is where that phrase comes from. In terms of
attitudes, he theorizes that while for most of them, their moods are dour and
synonymously-cold during these “brr” months, we in the eternal sunshine are warm,
much like much like the happy-go-lucky grasshopper.
I remember now I didn’t have much answer to what the good doctor had said then. In
hindsight, I should have said, but Herr doctor, we are also under a fifth season which we
all must prepare for, the rainy season! Smart-alecky as this might be, it is true that
much like them, this is the time when our farmers must be ready for. They should be
planting many months prior and must always keep to a schedule so that harvest is not
compromised when the rains come. For the rest (laid-back Ay-shuns), individuals and
communities alike, chores and activities like strengthening the integrity of our own
houses, i.e., patching roofs and windows, must be planned and acted upon like
clockwork and diligently. For our governments, their task should center on repairing and
improving roads and bridges when the sun shines.
Alas, even as words always appear to be engraved in stone, actions float then sink
whenever the rains fall. Sadly, it always brings us back to that one particular lesson in
Kindergarten…
