Cleansing Rain

I cannot say what it is about rain that soothes my soul. The sound of falling rain on various objects (palm leaves and pavement outside my room window) is music to my ears. I find myself thinking of home whenever it rains here in Laie, and when I think of my home in Washington my heart aches a little more for evergreen trees, foggy mornings and my dog. How is it that something so common like rain can create such strong emotions in a person?

For me, I know that when I hear rain falling I know when the trade winds pick up here a smell of something cleaner and purer will fill my nostrils. Rain represents a cleansing process in life; one that occurs daily and sometimes many times a day. Especially here in Laie where the town lies in the shadow of the Ko'olau mountain range, rain comes plentiful as clouds try to rise above the Ko'olau boundary and release their contents on the lands of the Windward side of Oahu. Something about being clean and pure, or in this case smelling something clean and pure, brings peace to my soul.

Rain also represents loneliness. As I hear the rain falling, memories of friends from home and a different life, one that would never exist here, fill my mind. The pain slowly enters my heart as I realize that I cannot go back to those times in my mind where I could play for hours with friends in the rain and come home to warm clothes, blankets and hot cider. I cannot go back to cuddling with my cats on grey, dreary days while watching movies on my TV. The pain comes as I realize that for now, those memories cannot be relived. On these rainy days, I get wet, sometimes soaked, by myself in may instances, and there are no cats to cuddle with. I cannot fathom how the many IWES (International Work/Education Study) students on campus survive living away from home and all they know to be familiar for four years with just two weeks where they can return home or at least leave Oahu.

There is also something redeeming about rain. The idea that something dirty can be washed in the cleansing drops of water from the Heavens is not only appealing but wished for often. I think I wish for the cleansing of the rain most because I know I am a very imperfect person. Not only am I imperfect, I also have the capacity to do things that are stupid knowing that I am doing these stupid things. Expecting a confession from your friendly, neighborhood cowgirl? Well, think again because though I do frequently mess up and hurt other people's feelings, I do not use this blog to discuss those things. Being an imperfect person, I frequently forget about the verse in 2 Nephi 2:25 in the Book of Mormon (for you master scriptorians, you will know this verse well) where the Lord tells us that "... men are, that they might have joy."

If I know this, why do I allow myself to see the negative side of rain in addition to the positive side? The easy answer is the fact that in reality, because there will always be a positive and a negative, most people will see both sides. Ecologically, rain is essential to the perpetuation of life on this Earth. Personally, rain is essential to the perpetuation of my life because of the memories and thoughts that rain evokes in me. This is one of my treasures that is free to all who wish to snatch it up. Rain can seem depressing and gloomy, but there are also good things that come from it. Try to look at the bright side on rainy days. If you cannot see the bright side in the rain, wait for the rain to pass and look for the rainbow. :D

If you are looking for the complex answer, try again later when I am not trying to write three term papers which will add up to almost forty pages of typed work in addition to many more pages that have been written throughout the entire semester. Maybe next semester I will be able to explore the complex answer to why I allow myself to see both sides to life. Until then, I'm hitting the books.