The Gentle Rain

Reproduced in its entirety from slackerschronicles.wordpress.com under a Creative Commons license.

I'd lived in urban or developed areas all of my life until November last. Even as a child, before the urban sprawl overtook my quiet residential neighbourhood in the suburbs, I had always been interested in the sound of rain. When it rains in cities or towns, suburbs or developments, you know that it is raining, the sound of the rain hitting the hard surfaces of development reminding you of your detachment from the natural world; the cacophony of sound playing incessantly in your head driving you to distraction.

I work on the top floor of a converted home in an office with a suspended ceiling, the roof itself being galvanised sheeting - when it rains I can hardly hear myself think, forget using the phone or carrying on a conversation. You become conditioned to this noise, this natural intrusion into your headspace and give thanks - thanks for what the rain brings, life springs forth due to rain with plants drinking this manna from heaven in preparation of giving up their bounty. The psychic cleansing that the rain brings washes away the ugly and after the rain everything shines like a diamond under lights, rainbows form in the most unlikely of places and we are refreshed.

I moved out of the city in November, to hide, to heal, to reset. In the Caribbean, November is deep in the rainy season and it has been raining regularly up to now, a month and a half into the dry. My home is surrounded by green and backed by a hill covered in virgin bush, when it rains where I live...the rain makes no sound. No sound, can you believe? The drops caress the grass and weeds and trees and hills; turn the gurgling stream into a strong river and make me sit deeper in my chair or dive deeper under my duvet. This is what I have come to know and appreciate; especially sitting in my office this morning, my thoughts drowned by the sound of rain. If you can, take the opportunity to enjoy the gentle sound of rain if and when possible.