The dark clouds gather. The heavens open. The water pours down like a freezing cold shower. People throw open their umbrellas and dive for cover. Oh, why won’t this woeful weather go away? But is it miserable? If you stop and think about it, there are two sides to the rain – just like a story or an argument. There is the miserable side to it, of course. But then there is another side, the counteraction of the misery. The yin to the yang.
Rain can clear the mind
Imagine, if you will, that you’re sitting in a conservatory. Outside your glass walls the world is grey. The drops of rain are striking the window and the earth outside. You look up to the glass roof and see the raindrops hammering down above your head, trying to force their way in in vain.
You’re sat there below it all, looking at the dark world around you. Perhaps it’s cold outside? But you’re not cold inside, looking out. You’re sat there, in a comfy chair with the heating on and a cup of tea or hot chocolate in hand. You look out at the misery of the weather in the knowledge that you’re inside, safe and warm. Perhaps you read a good book?
Or close your eyes and listen to the pitter-patter of the rain on the glass? Maybe that sound soothes you? Sends you to sleep like white noise or, for some, the ticking of a clock? The outside world may be drenched and cold but you’re safe and warm, separated from it and content.
Nature
But change the scenery altogether. Picture a lush, green woodland. Nothing greener in the whole wide world. Tall trees packed with green or maybe autumnal brown leaves. The forest floor is alive with grass, ferns and all manner of flora. Imagine, if you will, that you’ve gone camping. You’re sat in the tent with the door wide open, looking out at the woodland beyond. You close your eyes and listen to the rain drops falling on the leaves outside.
You’re worlds away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. You’ve left the stress behind and embraced nature. Why worry about trivial matters now? Shifts and deadlines and money, what do they matter in the middle of the forest? You are truly set free, the trials of everyday life gone.
Or perhaps you’re hiking? Walking in open country on a hot day, feeling the punishing heat bearing down upon you. Your mind is becoming lost in the heat and you feel too hot to continue. A shower from the clouds goes along way to refresh you, cool you down and refocus your mind.
Nurturing the earth
But look at that lush green woodland or the garden outside the conservatory, if there is one. Isn’t it funny, how much greener everything gets on a rainy day? The plant life would never grow, it would never thrive without the rain. None of the beautiful countryside we have across the nation, and indeed the world, would be possible. There would be no lush, green woodlands. No fields with their long grass swaying gracefully in the wind. No hedges with birds nesting inside. Certainly, no wildflowers and without wildflowers, no bees.
The rain is not a bad thing
For those of you who find peace with nature or enjoy tending to your gardens, the rain is not a bad thing. It is vital to the survival of our ecosystem and life on the planet. Yes, too much rain can cause problems, flooding for example. But too little rain or no rain at all and the earth would dry up and turn into a desert.
Forget listening to the rain pitter-pattering on the glass. Forget hearing it on the leaves and forget the forest altogether. For as long as there is no rain, there is none of that. The rain is necessary to look after the earth and from that, it looks after our physical health and our mental health. Some may open the curtains in the morning, see the rain and curse the misery but when all is said and done, there is much gain from a rainy day. Sometimes, just sitting and watching it fall and listening to it strike a surface can improve your mental wellbeing.
Of course, it may not work for everyone, but for myself and others I know, it works wonders. Instead of seeing the negativity, see the natural beauty of it and the benefits it brings to the earth. For one person’s rainy day is another person’s day to disconnect from the cruel world and reconnect with themselves.
