When I was a young girl living in the mountains of Tennessee, one of my favorite experiences was sitting in the loft of our A Frame mountain cabin reading while the rain came down in soft afternoon showers. The rain was predictable and it came each afternoon around 1 p.m. I loved the sound of the rain coming through the trees and the fresh smell afterwards. It was a most peaceful experience and my favorite time of the day.
Another great memory of childhood was playing in the lawn sprinkler "rain" in the summer time when the natural rain didn't come. I would skip in and out of the sprinkler and let the water fall...back and forth, like a gentle rain. And then afterwards I would sit in the warm sun and read.
As an adult, I have consistently moved further west and finally cross country to a state that has generally beautiful long and dry summers followed by dangerously hot autumns. I love California because we have the ocean and our own mountains but I do miss my afternoon showers in the Tennessee mountains. I have a sprinkler system here though and when it comes on it is nostalgic of my summer rains of childhood. I sit on my art deck and read, complete an art project or just meditate as it "rains" on the gardens all around my deck. It sounds just like a summer shower. Everything turns softer and it's very calming.
Why is rain so powerful yet so peaceful? Because it means life and new birth. Nothing could exist without water and rain. We must have it too - for our own physical and emotional wellbeing. The sound of rain, the smell of it, the feel of it, the look of it; it feeds the soul and I think that I am perhaps my most peaceful during the falling rain.