I’d like to start off by apologizing for the long hiatus. I’ve found myself extremely busy, exhausted, and a bit overwhelmed lately. However, with the end of school right around the corner, things are beginning to become more manageable. I’ve also naturally found myself thinking a whole lot, and so a good list of blog post ideas have come out of that. Starting with this topic of rain.
So, what is it about rain? It develops an atmosphere and evokes particular emotions, and is commonly associated with specific themes. Some people hate it, others love it. I personally absolutely love rain, even if I have to stand in it while I wait for the bus, or I have to walk home in it; there’s some sort of satisfaction I receive from watching it or even partaking in it. It’s hard to explain, for I don’t completely understand why I enjoy it so much myself, but I have some ideas why. That’s sort of the point of this post, to actually explain my reasoning and hope it leads you to better understand how I think about things. Who knows, maybe you’ll even think a bit differently about it yourself. It conveniently just so happens to be raining today, so lets dive right in.
First of all, as I mentioned earlier, it develops a sort of special, kind of dreamy atmosphere. The day becomes a bit lackadaisical and relaxed. It brings out a sort of muse within me, which might be simply because I’m a writer, but at the same time it applies to all sorts of other situations. People find themselves wanting to stay home and read a book or watch a movie and relax. I find it to be a especially simple and calm. Like the weather is telling us we need to sit down for a second and calm down, whatever we need to get done will still be there after the rain stops, and the world keeps spinning.
It’s as if the outpouring of the water from the accumulation in the clouds is like each of us. Roaming the world we collect all sorts of weights, baggage, luggage, worries and anxieties. Yet there comes a time when we slow down, and we just can’t keep moving while being so weighed down, so we cast all our accumulations out in the rain. And so as the rain pours down, we sit down in our cozy chairs with a good novel and a cup of coffee as we sip the day away. No need for worries, or anxieties, there’s no work to be done today. The rain will take care of the world outside. For just this moment you can wait and have peace. The world can wait until the rain stops.
Just like this, I constantly find myself having to cast my worries and anxieties at the feet of Jesus to keep myself from going a bit crazy. And he relieves me, reassures me, and gives me the strength to push on, as the clouds disperse and the sun shines once more. This atmosphere and relation I have with the rain from knowing this gives me an appreciation and peace that I can’t entirely explain. It’s relaxing and inspiring at the same time. I feel as though when the rain falls down as a torrential downpour, I can feel my problems and anxieties just fall away. If you haven’t simply stood out in the rain in a long time and peering skywards, I highly encourage you to do it when you can. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring at the same time.
Of course, some people will think of rain as a more depressing event, a more depressing theme. An interruption and interference in their daily life and routine. A bother. A bore. A dull roar against their struggle towards success and accomplishment. Who can bother with getting soaked and having to change when heading to school or a job? Or, a truly saddening occasion coupled together with traumatic events such as funerals, break-ups, and family ruin. This can be true at times, it’s pretty easily seen that the opinion and emotions raised by rain is influenced primarily by the issues surrounding the individual. That makes sense. However, this more upset approach makes sense to me as well. There is truly a somber feel to rain. And the sadness portrayed when we cry is paralleled in the raindrops that fall from the sky. Our raindrop-tears fall from clouds of irises and eyelashes. The outpouring of rain as an emotional onslaught of depression and worry. We can’t help but explode with inward growling and rumbling as we try to hold back our tears, failing miserably. It’s quite a depressing picture, and a lot different from the one I painted earlier of inspiration and peace. But at the same time, that theme of being able to establish an atmosphere of its own remains. In these events, everything else is still placed aside. Your thoughts can’t help but grow and wander, and though they might rain into a more upsetting approach, the thoughts process nonetheless. The world doesn’t matter at this point, you’re caught up in that moment. In the moments following an individual, a memory, a life past. Rain, whether a thunderstorm or a simple overcast drizzle, manages to create its own stage and setting. A theme in itself. And it captures my attention and enthralls me. I find that if I have one of these moments, that I can actually feel more free and at peace simply by standing under the downpour of teardrops, knowing that I’m not the only one that cries as my tears mix with the raindrops. Some things are simply out of your control. Just like the rain can’t be stopped from outpouring.
Naturally, because I can’t have a blog post without a small piece of a poem I wrote, or a quote from a classic, here’s just a tiny scene that I wrote that I feet summed this entire conversation.
“As I stood there upon the lush carpet of the earth, staring into the outpouring of the clouds, I involuntarily realized something. I realized that life is not just made of these moments. No. Life IS these moments.”
An Outpouring Stranger,
Josiah Serravalle
Supplemental Mentality | 