The Rain Song

I have a degree in teaching mathematics.  To earn the degree, I had to take a bunch of education classes, but also earn the equivalent of a math degree, which meant learning all number of mathematical terms.  One term is in the title of the blog: quotient.

A quotient is the result of a division problem.  The quotient is determined by seeing how many times a number, the divisor, can divide into the other number, which is called the dividend.   So, in the example 8 divided by 2, 8 is the dividend, 2 is the divisor, and the quotient is 4.

The title of this blog derives (another math term!) itself from a line in Led Zeppelin's "The Rain Song." 

This is the mystery of the quotient

Upon us all, a little rain must fall

"The Rain Song" is a beautiful song, and one of my favorites by Led Zeppelin.  The beautiful music, accompanied by beautiful words, describing that of different seasons or phases of a relationship.  Spring: new love; Summer: hot, fiery love; Coldness of the winter: hurt and rejection.  

Tis song is filled with emotion.  When he speaks at the end of the song of the mystery of the quotient, he speaks to me of the results revealed by division, or separation.   

When I was going through the separation with my then wife, I had a realization one morning that this may not be as bad as I was making it out to be.  I was at church and my pastor was speaking about the creation view presented in the Bible, where God formed the earth.  The first things that he did was separate the light from the darkness. Then he separated the water from the land; then separated the land from the sea. 

If the first things he did was separate, then for me, I realized, being in a separation may not be such a bad thing. I was learning about myself; how I tick, the things that were most important to me, what could be considered trivial and not as important as I thought they were.  I realized what a jerk I was being, being selfish and critical and rude and inconsiderate towards others, especially those I knew were most important to me.  I had taken them for granted.

While my division with my then wife was brought the rain fall:  sorrow and sadness,  a lot of good has come from it.  I'm still learning about me; I haven't stopped.  But the rain times, with hindsight, aren't always bad. The rain brings water, which also cleanses, erodes, erases and smooths things out, and  fosters growth.