Just Sitting in the Rain

It is probably accurate to say that many, if not most, people likely feel a sense of sadness when it rains. There is just something somber and slightly depressing about the rain that makes it such a powerful visual and auditory cue in film. Certainly I still remember the powerful imagery of the ending of Blade Runner and the monologue: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die." Despite this common theme of rain being associated with sadness and gloom I have always enjoyed the rain. I find it relaxing and calming.

I am not sure why I feel so different about rain to most people I know. Few things make me as instantly happy as when I walk outside into a rainy day. The way the sun is slightly muted and beams of light break through the clouds, the drumming rap-tapping of the drops on the ground, glass or roof, the smell of wet grass and leaves and soggy bark. Sight, smell, sound all combine to leave me with a lighter mood. I often find myself taking long walks in the rain, strolling beneath an umbrella and letting myself become enveloped in the soft drumming of the water droplets on the canvas of the umbrella.

When it is not raining my favorite way to relax is to sit on the floor of my shower and let the falling water cascade over my head and shoulders. It is not quite as effective as natural rain but I nevertheless find the experience far more calming and meditative than most other activities. When stressed or upset or disappointed I will often just sit beneath the shower for up to an hour. When I leave and dry off I almost always feel much better than when I started. Sometimes I will even pull up videos of rain sounds on youtube and leave them playing for hours in the background, giving me a soothing back-drop for whatever I am doing.

In some ways I think the world runs just a little slower when it rains, there are less people about, the clutter and noise of everyday life shrinks away for a bit and the sounds of nature surge to the forefront. The complete shift in sensory input, the drumming water striking surfaces, the shift in the light, the smell of wet plants, the taste of the moisture on the air, the touch of water on the skin. Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, all of it changes in the rain. I think it is this dramatic alteration of the normal environment that effects my mood so. For many people I suppose those changes bring up feelings of dreary gloom and sadness but for me they bring a feeling of peace, calm and renewal.

Surrounded constantly by the bustle and stimulation of modern civilization sometimes I think it is healthy to withdraw to the peace and quiet to meditate for a little. The calm offers a chance for reflection, to put thoughts and ideas into order, to calm nerves and release tension. While many people are not likely to ever enjoy the rain in the same way I do I think everyone should seek out their own way to find calm and quiet, to take it easy and meditate even if only for a few minutes every now and then. At worst it costs us nothing, and for the better it could make us all just a bit happier than before. Find your own version of sitting in the rain and use it, that is my recommendation for the day.