Rain

After a sunny, warm weekend the weather is back to clouds and rain showers. I could not be happier. As much as I love sunny days with clear blue skies, the days in between where we get rain and a cool breeze blows teasing the air and trees and flowers, with subdued light and loudly chirping birds in the backyard and the woods behind our property, make me feel super relaxed. The many shades of green all around us seem to be in sharper focus, and my artistically inclined eye views all colour around me as richer, stronger and more defined. The world makes sense on rainy spring days, all doubt as to the meaning of life and the universe as we know it seem removed. When I was growing up in Roeselare, I watched a lot of movies about medieval knights and their adventures. There was always a wizard involved, and brave princesses or queens, and there was order and logic amidst the magic and wonder and battles, and it seemed like the weather was always cloudy with some showers. It seemed the weather of choice for noble conquests and Merlin coming up with just the right potion to overcome the evil warring overlord or enchanted dragon. Apparently, cloudy, rainy weather was one of the ingredients for successful outcomes of complicated plots in those medieval stories. I feel like the same type of weather adds a lighter touch to my own story. This cloudy, grey, rainy weather where I get to wear soft, cozy sweaters the same colour as the sky makes me feel luxuriously relaxed like my yawning cat in his warm basket. On days like today I convince myself that all important inventions and discoveries were made on exactly such days. The intellect seems at the same time more relaxed and more focused, more inwardly directed. I also love the feeling of belonging, of feeling safe. I am not sure why spring days with rain also make me feel warm inside and secure, like no harm can touch me at the edge of this quiet forest. It is a wonderful feeling, one that allows me to breathe deeply and happily. One that makes me dream of far away travels, but makes me grateful for the security of my home here with my husband and son. I feel safely tucked in with the rich green foliage of the trees, I belong right along with the other families in our street, with the dog and cat, with the birds singing overhead, the grass under my feet. There is no traumatic family history, no loss, no sorrow, no lack of closure. Everything makes perfect sense, and the world feels rich with promise, hope and an unmistakable and palpable sense of peace and joy. I have no idea on a deeper level why I feel this way, and maybe that is the best part, that rainy spring days make me feel happy inside and it seems totally irrelevant as to why. No puzzle, no problems. Bring on the spring showers and its clouds. I am so ready.
Now, mind you, when the sun comes back on Friday, warm and bright, I will be ready too, Capri pants and sandals and light summer blouse and all. But for now, this rain is so right.