As long as I can remember, the rain has brought me indescribable delight.
The light rain, the heavy rain. The drizzling rain, the thunderous rain. The threateningly loaded grey clouds hovering above us, daring us to challenge it and second-guess its load. All of it holds a special place in my heart.
And not just watching it, if I’m not outside in the rain, experiencing it in the flesh, I’m not satisfied. I have to get out and be in it. Those grey, rainy days that everyone else seems to lose hope in? They electrify and inspire me.
Whenever someone else has seen this enchantment firsthand, they’ve always asked in a state of curiosity (sometimes mixed with a level of disgust) – “Why do you love the rain so much?”
There is no simple answer to this question.
Any attempt to explain exactly my enchantment with the rain will never be entirely accurate. Like silence, its essence is lost by mere virtue of its explanation. The full story seems destined to be known only to those who feel similarly. The essence is lost as soon as it is described.
And yet, I will attempt to put words to this nameless feeling. What is so enchanting about the rain? What happens to our lives when it rains?
Here are a few observations.
Life Itself
All living beings require water to function. We are made from it, though we may see ourselves otherwise. Man can easily survive in the wettest of climates, but the driest require intervention to bring water, lest it remain uninhabitable.
From animals to insects, humans to plants and vegetation, water is the mechanism by which life exists on earth at all.
When it rains, we are witness to a refreshment of life itself. The plants, animals and soil receive the sustenance they need to renew themselves. We can even smell the scent given off by grass and flowers when they receive rain, as though they are singing with joy at its receipt.
The flowers stand proud after their weary drooping once they drink the rain fed to them. Seeds are electrified with ambition when they absorb water, sprouting and shooting upwards into the boundless sky, perhaps in remembrance to where the water came from.
Though it may hinder man, the rain is a bearer of glad tidings. It is a messenger that mercy has arrived. It is a promise that life may continue.
When it rains, life is renewed.
Imposed Slowdown
When it rains, everything slows down. We hear some people complain endlessly that the bus or train they are expecting has been delayed because of it. We see cars having to slow down, traffic build up and even busy high streets become sparse.
When it rains, people rush to head inside, either to their places of work or their homes. As a result, the outside world becomes one where only those who need to be outside are there. The markets are stripped down to those who truly need to purchase and those who truly need to sell. This forced slowdown is a welcome break from our hectic reality where we rush and are rushed in all of our daily tasks. Rain provides both a reason and an excuse for us all to drop the pace on many of our activities and give us space to recalibrate.
Just as charging our mobile devices usually involves putting them down on a table somewhere, the same seems to happen for us when it rains. This recharging makes people more sedentary than usual and we enter a period of recalibration, a soft-reset of sorts. When the sun eventually shines once more, we enter the world renewed and refreshed.
The rain also serves as a reminder that we are not in full control of our routines or our lives. We ultimately live by the laws of nature and are dependent on our environment. When we have plans that are ended, changed or affected by the rain, we are served with a vital reminder that we are not in as much control as we think.
When the rain forces a change in our plans, we are served with the reality that much of our time depends on the environment, and does not exist in spite of it. The activities we pursue and engage in normally are things we plan assuming that we have the freedom to do whatever we like. We disregard the restrictions and cues of our environment. When it rains, we are reminded that we exist on this planet as the plants and animals do. We are subject to the same forces of nature as they are. We change our activities based on the rain and at the same time are reminded of our place on this earth, away from the abstract ideals of our minds.
As Bertrand Russel writes:
“Whatever we may wish to think, we are creatures of Earth; our life is part of the life of the Earth, and we draw our nourishment from it just as the plants and animals do. The rhythm of Earth life is slow; autumn and winter are as essential to it as spring and summer, the rest is as essential as motion.” [1]
For those of us who seldom see the world outside of the city walls, the rain is a universal, humbling reminder of our true place on earth.
During heavy rain, puddles reflect the city lights and buildings towering above. They serve as mirrors reflecting the world around us, turning the downward gaze into one that ascends to the heavens. These reflections speak to us as if to ask “… and what about you?”.
If only we listen.
Forced Discomfort
It is our human nature to gravitate towards ease, to prefer it and comfort over difficulty and discomfort. We do this when we pick the most efficient route to a destination, when we pick foods for their taste over their nutritional value or when we order fast food instead of cooking at home.
When it rains however, a level of discomfort is blanketed across everyone equally. Merely venturing outside means getting wet, and if we want to shield ourselves from its effects as much as possible, we change what we wear entirely and cover ourselves with umbrellas.
All of this is inherently a form of discomfort, for where we would normally pick and choose ourselves, we have our clothing, accessories and often our activities changed or chosen for us by the rain. Many people cancel their plans for the day, opting to stay inside, their plans and their emotions frustrated.
And yet, there is a pleasure that discomfort brings.
Its opposite, the abundance of comfort sounds perfect in theory. Why would we not want to live in comfort all around us? And yet, in the times that we live in we have seen this level of comfort regress many of the metrics that we consider important to the living of a fulfilling life. Large numbers are less happier and healthier than those before us who could never dream of the luxuries we experience today. We also know the age old lesson that a child born into excessive comfort and luxury has many obstacles to development placed before him.
Why then do we balk at the slightest discomfort?
Although a mild reminder at best, the rain is a way for people to be reminded that we are not in control of our environment. Things will happen that scatter or interrupt our plans and things will change around us in ways that we do not necessarily enjoy. Short of moving to another country entirely, there is no way to escape the rain entirely. Whatever is necessary to be done on a rainy day must be done regardless. People must trudge through their day coping against the elements they may not enjoy.
But this powering through despite the elements of discomfort is the essence of the human experience. It is what sets us apart from the instinctual nature of the animal world. We know to persevere through what we dislike for the greater good. We know that there exists a benefit after the discomfort that will reward our efforts.
We feel more accomplished after completing a task with struggle over one completed with ease. Rain is a small reminder that this struggle exists and that it is good for us.
It is what makes us human.
Gratitude
Even for those who dislike the rain, there is a benefit from it that none can deny. It provides a contrast that emphasises the conditions they do like.
Many live for sunny days, they dream and travel far to experience them. And yet, they can often start to feel a boredom for what they have and a longing for some the conditions they escaped.
This is because we can only appreciate what we like by the intermittent experiencing of that which we do not. The boldness of the contrast directly correlates to the enjoyment we feel.
As the popular saying goes:
“What’s a sunny day if every day is sunny?”
We cannot appreciate the good in front of us if we are not confronted from time to time by that which we dislike. Constantly living under the conditions that we ‘like’ would result in us becoming lax and lethargic. We would disregard any sense of gratitude for living the life we always wanted. Indeed, only he who has lived a life of visual impairment can truly appreciate the gift of sight.
For even those who dislike the rain therefore, it provides a benefit for which little give thanks.
Those who feel the beauty of the rain are in no need of the justifications I have offered here, but for those outside looking in, I leave some verses of poetry:
Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall, [2]
References
[1] – The Conquest of Happiness[2] – ‘The Rainy Day’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow