Back to Natural Basics: Rainy Day Reflection

Where I reside, it has practically rained every weekday this week. And, I LOVE IT! Well, I love it as long as I can admire the rain from inside my home and it isn’t followed or doesn’t result in flash floods, hail, and tornadoes. And even with some of the negatives that can be attributed to the rain, I simply love it anyway. It’s been such a joy this week (for more reasons than one).

And since today is my day to encourage going back to the natural basics, I’m only dwelling on the positive aspects of rain for this post. From my perspective, rain is a natural boon for the following reasons:

1. The edible and non-edible gardens have been able to quench their thirsts quite nicely.
2. The outside water use will result in somewhat of a cost savings in the water bill (for this week, anyway).
3. Rain usually brings down the outdoor temperatures. And this phenomenon is so incredibly welcomed when you’ve had extremely high temps for many days in a row. I know for a fact that all living things (not just those of the human variety) appreciate the reprieve that rain brings in cooling down things a bit. All I have to do to confirm this is look at my flower beds and my daughter’s veggie and fruit plants. They’ll vouch for the assistance that rain brings every time.
4. I’ve been able to take a little break from having to hose down the plant life outside and have reallocated those extra minutes to other early morning tasks that needed some attention.
5. There’s nothing like witnessing the awesomeness of nature doing its thing. It always reminds me of the omnipotence of God. (Rainy days are a perfect time for reflection).
6. And by the way, rain can lead to beautiful rainbows in the sky (the double ones are unbelievable) and to the reminder of the covenant that God made with every living creature (mankind, beast, cattle, fowl) to never destroy the earth again with a flood.
7. Rainy days also provide a perfect excuse for staying indoors and finding creative activities that can be done inside the home when you can’t go outside. (Since I’m a homebody by nature, rain doesn’t take “depth” or “meaningfulness” away from my day; it actually adds some flavor to it.)
8. There’s something calming about the sound of rain. Even the almost-to-the-point-of-torrential sounding rain can put my mind in a relaxed state. Therefore, I do some of my best content creation during the rain. I don’t know about you; but for me, it’s a little bit of the “white noise” effect working when I listen to the rain. It helps me to think deeply, to write, to create.
9. On the flip side, rain is also that natural sleepy time remedy that causes no harmful side effects. While I can do some of my best work during the rain, I also do some of my best sleeping during the rain, too. Funny how that works. Well, if truth be told, I’ve never had any trouble in the sleeping category. If I’m tired enough, I can sleep anytime and anywhere, but the rain just adds a layer of drowsiness that gets me into a “sound” sleep state. Everyone needs to sleep soundly every once in a while or the majority of the time, actually. My only exceptions to this rule are that sound sleep isn’t an ideal resting state during times of emergencies or when you’re a parent of a newborn. Other than those instances, I’m all for sound sleeping in the rain.
10. Since my adult children both have their own cars now, it’s forced one car to be parked outside of the garage. And guess who drew the short straw? Well, that would be me. Anyway, I park my van outside and bird poop occasionally finds it (more often than not). But, you want to know what a natural cleaning solution for this problem is? Well, it’s good old-fashioned rain water. While having my car outside makes for it being the dirtiest of all the cars, I have to admit that I get the best car washes ever.

I could probably go on with my summary of all the benefits that a healthy “raining” can bring on, but I think you get the picture. And I’m certain that some of these same benefits have been experienced on your end as well.

It rained again this morning and will likely rain again later today, and I’m all for it. But right now, it’s bright and sun shiny.  I’m looking out the window and marveling at how green and lush everything is and how the birds and insects are alive and thriving. I think I can attribute some of these positives to the rain. And all these visuals make me keenly aware of how nature is a beautiful thing if you stop long enough to truly take in its wonder and recognize the bountiful contributions it makes to all facets of life.