Listening to the Rain

I love the pitter-patter of spring rain. The drips, pouring pelting sound on my roof, with birdsong in the background, maybe frog songs too, are so refreshing and relaxing. The consistency of the sound calms my mind; my body relaxes and connects me to the spirit of this water planet. Everything that lives outside in nature sings with joy when it rains. Trees and flowers soak it up; animals hunker down with gratitude. I often put my headphones on and listen to rainfall recordings when I write poems. Cows lay down in the grass under trees in the pasture. The soothing sound of rain puts me to sleep so easily at night. Rain simply nourishes us all.

Thich Nhat Hanh wrote about listening to rain in his book, The Art of Living. He wrote, "In Plum Village, the mindfulness practice center in France where I live, there used to be a veranda called the Listening to the Rain Veranda. We made it specially for that purpose so we could sit there and listen to the rain and not need to think about anything. Listening to the rain can help the mind come to stillness...You don't need to try to still your mind. You need only to relax and continue listening to the rain. The longer you are able to do so, the more still your mind becomes...Sitting in stillness like this allows us to see things as they truly are. When the body is relaxed and the mind comes to rest, we can see clearly."

On the Plum Village Apphttps://plumvillage.app there is a category called "Listening to the Rain Veranda" so we can all enjoy the sound of rain anytime we wish.