the rain man

i've been thinking for a while now about what i consider to be an environment in which i am perfectly content. at first, only a few places came to mind so i decided to broaden the range in which i was thinking from only concrete settings to times in which i am satisfied with my life.

the past couple of days have been perpetuated by pouring rain, booms of thunder and blinking lightning. on some days with rough weather all i want is to sit by the window and enjoy the sound of rain on the shingles of the roof, or watch how every individual raindrop splatters against the ground like the canvas for the painter that is the sky. clouds must be good artists, the rain from the clouds paints the art that actually comes to life shortly after the work is complete. even the supposed 'smell' of rain appeals to me; while not a particularly easy odor to identify, it is surprisingly pleasant when i notice it. this particular day, however, my first instinct was to go out in the rain and run around like a complete and utter fool...naturally, i did. the rain was coming down in droves, enough to discourage me to the point of going inside after a mere five minutes, mostly because i wasn't wearing a raincoat. shivering and goose bumps aren't really my cup of tea. my favorite experience with rain was walking in the rain on a warm summer day, just on the rail trail all by myself. it was a serene, ethereal, simply put, beautiful experience. thinking clearly doesn't come easily to me too often, and it's the days i spend wandering in the rain that i am able to understand my thoughts best.

when the rain is pouring, i'm reminded of countless soccer games and team runs. while i'm usually not one to bask in nostalgia, these memories really strike me because they are times in which i was truly happy. the feeling of my hair stuck to my forehead combined with sweat, tears, and rain running into my eyes is one unmatched by that of a shower or swimming in a pool. there's something about rain that just breathes life into me when i'm out in it. it clears my mind, soothes my soul.

ultimately, rain is not so much a place of solace as it is a circumstance in which i am satisfied with everything in my surroundings. my senses are flooded by things that many people would often associate with sadness, but for me remind me of some of the greatest moments of my life. in the following video, you see a shoddy, homemade video of a rainstorm that happened upon the night i received the first of hopefully many scholarships.