I woke up this morning...regretfully. I have been dreaming a lot which always makes me tired in the morning. It is like my psyche needs 7 hours of nothing, to do the days I do. Dreaming messes that all up and leaves me feeling tired and drained.
So the struggle was real to extract myself from my very comfortable bed...
I am a creature of habit, so the dog I do the same thing every day...
I get up
Stumble to the kitchen
Put my coffee on
Let her outside
Mix coffee with 50% creamer
Grab computer
Stumble with coffee and computer back to bed
Traipse back to kitchen to let dog in
However this morning when I opened the door to let her out, it was RAINING! It is August 13 if I am not mistaken. Southern California. Ojai. This may sound ludicrous to you East Coasters but this almost never happens. Like snow in August in the colder climates. It is not something that happens...like ever.
But today as I tried to coerce the dog to go out in the light rain showering the very dry earth, I was struck with a dread and then a slight panic that only people in So Cal will understand...
So much of our weather is dry and unchanging it is easy to have a very outdoor lifestyle. You can leave things like blankets and pillows and meditation cushions outside for months because it never rains. So this morning when Mother Nature surprised me with this lovely little shower, my first reaction was to panic. What was getting wet right now that should not have been getting wet?
I ran around for a short period of time grabbing items in out of the rain which was annoying and kind of stupid since I knew that the rain would be brief and light. Still I scurried to and fro. All the while annoyed that I was not lying in my bed listening to the rain...
Having spent far too much time in Florida, rain is something that I have a difficult relationship with...in short, I kind of hate it. I know I am not supposed to say that here in Southern California. I know it is precious and all that but I can’t get over my East Coast rain trauma. The violent storms, the sudden deluges that ruin everything. The mosquitos that come in droves every year. I am rain averse due to protracted years of being soaked to the bone.
I have spent the last 10 years on the West Coast (more or less) but the time has not really changed my habitual response of “OH SHIT!” It is automatic and unstoppable. However, after my initial panic, I have been successful in training myself to relax and just be still with the rain. The rain here is rarely violent and often quite soothing if I let it be. Rain can be RAIN or rain can be r a i n, if I let it.
So this morning I set aside my initial panic and stepped outside in it and let it soak in. The light and gentle gift of rain in August. I listened to the sound of it on my deck. Felt it gently hit my skin. Lovingly toweled it off the dog who though I was a bit nuts standing on my deck in the rain in my underwear. She should be used to this by now...
Today I was able to enjoy part of the delightful and unexpectedly spontaneous sprinkling. It was lovely. I loved its sound, the patterns the individual droplets left on my deck and rocks. I enjoyed thinking that the grass in the backyard was sighing with relief at the light mist of water after yesterday’s heat. I thought of the goat’s befuddled glances upwards when they tried to decipher what was falling from the sky. I listened to the rain fall and I loved it.
To some this may seem ridiculous as I know most people in my environs love the rain. I am a life long hater of rain so this morning’s unexpected drizzle came first as a shock and then as a gift. Like so many other gifts in my life, I am most likely not to see the gift until later.
Rain in August is a delight. I am actually sorry it stopped. I would have loved to have headed out into it on my morning hike. Allowing the water to fall where it would and rightly on my head. Being ok with things that I have often found hard to accept seems to be my latest lesson. Today I am grateful for the gift of Rain in August and my own ability to get out of my way and let go of the past and savor every drop.
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