The Rain

It's raining outside. There's a cold breeze that makes the already cool desert night a little chilly, but it's wonderful. There's a steady stream of rain that falls and creates a pitter-patter rhythm on my roof and in my yard. The smell of the rain is so good and I can't seem to get enough of it. I'm taking huge breaths trying to capture as much as I can before it goes away. Everything outside feels clean and fresh. I love it when it rains. There is something so liberating about standing in the rain and letting it just wash over you. When you stop all your attempts at staying dry and just let the water roll down your face and in your hair and cover every inch of you. It's like surrendering, laying all your defenses down, and letting what is be, without any attempt to change it. Rain always brings hope. It's like having a good cry and knowing that when your done you can square your shoulders and face whatever is in front of you head on. It's like a cleaning of the slate so you can start over fresh. It's a cleansing and purifying. It's a washing away of everything you've collected since the last time it rained. Sometimes I imagine that the rain drops are my tears, the ones I cry and the ones that are there but never seem to come. Maybe you've never felt the relief of crying something out, but sometimes there is nothing better that to just release the emotions you are feeling. As the tears come tumbling down your cheeks there seems to be a healing that takes place, or at least a reprieve of sorts from all the conflicting thoughts and emotions. The times when you can't cry are more difficult because there is no release. It's then that I like to imagine the rain as my tears. It acts as my release, washing away the pain, the grief, the frustration, the fear. There are also tears of joy that can be shed and there are times when the rain feels like a million drops of unexpected delight, like showers of blessing falling on you. Then there are the times when the rain is like a saturation of a dry, parched soul. Like a quenching of a strong thirst, like a flooding after a drought. It revives and refreshes and makes you want to keep going and not give up. Tonight I'm enjoying the rain, letting it be a release, watching it wash everything clean, listening to it create it's beautiful, joyful music as it splashes to the ground, breathing in the moist air that feels so good in the dry atmosphere, allowing it to work it's magic, looking forward to what a beautiful day tomorrow will be because it rained the night before.