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appreciation
March 2009 
What are you excited about? RAIN !!!
Posted on Nov 1st, 2008
by 
willowinthewind
willowinthewind
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for October 27, 2008:
RainDrops
It rained all last night! And yesterday! Good gentle sweet-falling RAIN. And the sky is still filled with clouds and promise.
If you live anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains, this may mean little to you. But California has not seen rain since early spring; that's a loooong time. We officially fell into drought status in June of this year. If you've always lived in a place where rain is a year-round occurrence (except when it's snowing), you may have no idea what it's like, the first rain after six months of dryness. Let me tell you, it smells sweet.
Here, summer fields smell like a spice cabinet. Native grasses dry up and their essences, no longer clouded by water and chlorophyll, come into full bloom. But when the first time rain hits those grasses?? It is amazing, and oh so fleeting. Seems like you get to inhale this special aroma only once each year.
I love rain to unseemly excess! Perhaps, in more verdant parts of the world, the rainy season is a time of dormancy. Here, it is a break from the unrelenting sun, and it initiates the time when our grasses begin to grow green and lush. And for me, it is the time my spirits soar, as if I've been hibernating through the summer. For me, life begins now.
Rain!! This time it's not merely fog overhead, or even mist. You can feel the trees, the trees, the hills, the birds and wildlife who've all waiting, rise in a song, a tremendous joyous relief!
Why is it the rain smells so sweet? Maybe it's all those luscious negative ions?
Research has shown that falling water creates thousands of negative ions by splitting other wise neutral particles of air, freeing electrons to manifest their vitalizing function. These electrons join up with smaller air particles, thus giving them a predominantly negative charge. According to the experts, positive ions rob us of our good senses and dispositions, while their counterpart, negative ions, enhance them, stimulating everything from plant growth to the human spirit.
As long ago as 1789, a European monk, Abbe Bertholon, speculated that ions exist and affect people. He recorded the responses of medical patients and normal people to changes in the electrical state of the ambient air. More than a century later, in 1899, two scientists named Elster and Geitel proved the existence of ions. Only since the 1930s have researchers been probing their secrets. The minimal amount for optimum human functioning is about 1000/ccm.
Falling water and plants all produce wondrous negative ions, which are said to stream off the leaves of plants, most notably pines and asparagus ferns. On the seashore, where water is always falling, the ratio of negative to positive ions is approximately doubled, a ratio that human beings respond to most favorably.
We have all experienced this positive effect, regardless of our proximity to waterfalls or the ocean. Every home has a built in, natural ionizer---the shower. Our daily bath rituals are, in effect, the practice of preventive medicine. Waterfalls have always been the favorite habitat of mystics and artists. The inspiration and romance generated at places like Niagara Falls and Yosemite have a direct relationship to the lowering of serotonin levels in the blood, caused by the waves of negative ions from the spray of these falls.
Negative ions promote alpha brain waves and increase brain wave amplitude, which translates to a higher awareness level.
Whatever.
rainmist trees
I am out there running in the rain, dancing in the rain, playing singing in the rain, running in circles arms flapping sending the wildest hottest appreciation up into the universe out towards you.
To you.... Oh, sweet heavens! You are my friend, mySelf, oh the precious friends I have found on Gaia! Methinks my heart's been parched too. You are the gentle rainfall to this heart, in a sweet blessed interconnection of Oneness. How grateful I am for your presence.
And the presence of this blessed sweet-falling rain!
The Voice of the Rain
And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed, and
yet the same,
I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,
and make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
Reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns.)
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Access: Public
That was a long drought, no wonder you are thrilled to have some rain, we had deep grey skies again today. Could you send some sunshine and I will share our rain, we just had our wettest summer on record !!!
What a Deal!! (Just let us hang onto the rain here for a couple days longer ok ok :) But as soon as the sunshine comes back, I will bottle some up, put it in a Special Delivery Handle With Greatest Care package, and California Sunshine will be on its way to you. (But remember your promise, we get some sweet English rain by return post. !)
jeannie – this is a gorgeous piece of writing. I feel like I just got vicariousy wet. my hair is still wet from my shower. but here in parched dry colorado I can smell that rain smell. I'm on the way out to voluteer for the obama campaign in the next county, wearing my “independent by nature” tshirt and toting the book Gaviotas by Alan Weisman and my camera. I wonder what wonder awaits me?
thanks you for fortifiying my soul along with Laura before I go out into the “real” world to try to talk “real” humans into voting for “real” change. :-)
xoxo
-d
You are the gentle rainfall to this heart, in a sweet blessed interconnection of Oneness
These gentle Loving words have me Bowing with such Humility and tears of profound Love!
Bless the rain…! The rains brings renewal … as the Heavens open up… sending nourishing liquid Love to quench the thirst of God's beautiful Mother Earth…!!
Yesyesyes…I am dancing with you…singing with you….and letting the gentle rain shower us with its' deLight !!!
We're singing in the Rain…we're singing in the rain…what a wonderful feeling….we're singing in the rain !!!
we have also just started having rains
yay!
last night it was thunder and lightning
awesome!
thank you for your celebration of this aspect of nature
much love
Maybe you should think about living in Oregon from November to February or so!
This was a lovely post, Jeannie. Thanks for such delicious imagery!
Mmmm…Blessed Rainfall!
I am just as delighted and thankful for each rainfall, no matter how frequent…and we DO have our streaks of not-rain :-D
Ohhh that scent is such a turn-on, LOL…love the smell of the rain on the soil, on Mother Earth…sooooo delicious! Love the sound of the rain on the windows, on the roof, on the ground, and as it weaves its way through the tree boughs.
Hmmm….yes, speaking of rain…I could use some…my plants outside are looking thirsty! =)
Love Youuu and your post!~~~<3
I am just north of Los Angeles in the High Desert and been LOVING the rain this weekend! Yay! Beautiful Poem, and I could feel all the Joy in your blog. :)
Rain!!! Wooohooooo!!!
It is raining here and I love listening to the rain on the roof and snuggling in bed and reading! and writing and listening to my friends via this link…
Thanks beautiful one.
I don't know, either it's raindrops or tears, but my face is so wet! And my heart so filled with joy and the profoundest gratitude for each one of you. My heart rushes to your side! To experience love and joy is good; but to share it receive it throw it up into the winds magnify it against the heavens….wow. That must be glory!
And it rained all last night! And the sounds that were coming from the backyard this morning!! At least a bazillion or more singing chattering laughing little birds were celebrating (well, my count could be off…I was trying very hard to keep track, but they kept dancing around so much!).
HOW I love you, my precious sisters. Peace, peace and joy to you! Deep bows.
This is sooooo beautiful!!!!!! Rain is by far one of the most precious forms of water … the best kind is the feather type … “dusty rain” …. where it falls and falls and falls … and you don't even realize that you are drenched!! It's like a massage from the Divine Being!!! His hands cure us from all of the stresses that come with life and help rejuvinate us with the natural sources that come from our environment!
What a wonderful way to show love!! Enjoy and relish in the rain, Jeannie!!! Lots of LOVE!!!
Thank you for this beautiful blog.
Sarah would have been out there dancing with you, she loves dancing in the rain….now I know why!
Love the sound of rain….especially on a tin roof. I even like storms….as long as I am safe, snug and warm inside.
You, wonderful Willow are just like the negative ions, making everyone feel good and refreshed with your joyous energy!
Enjoy the rain!
Great blog , dear Sister.
I think you might like this link, both the poem and the photograph are fantastic.
Enjoy!
Hugs, waves of Love,
Lucienne
And yesterday the heavens opened up and it POURED, oh oh oh!, the tall building in which I work rocked and swayed to the rhythm of the winds.
Today? The day people will be making the extra effort to go to the polls? Not a cloud in the sky! Bright sunshine.
May all who vote do so with open compassionate hearts: a tip of the hat to the rising recognition that we are all one – the sweet loving life force of the universe flowing through all living beings and our sweet mother earth. What a wondrous world of amazing promise in which we live and love and have our being!
Peace and Oceans of Love
Yes yes yes…Vote.. but with open compassionate hearts …and pray for the winner to be guided by the Love of God for all beings!
Soooo beautiful..
a good friend told me that rain is healing consciousness, your post has given a expanded wonderful insight into the gentle essence of nature and her gifts..
Oh how I shall enjoy getting rained on as I walk in the divine showers..
This is such a lovely expression of '' change '' in this moment..
Sunshine and rain…Such blessings, such gifts..
The rain on the ocean…Like heavens tender tune…: )
Love and gratitude for your creative gifts..
Love
Ange..
This is a rain-dance……the negative ions …peaceful…..patter on the leaves..thanks for the gifts…
Thank you. Thank you. We need a rain-dance right now. You have given me the images for a poem, a prayer, an intention. Yes!!
Beautiful blog, willow. I love rain, though I haven’t danced in it since my childhood! Reading your words, I felt and smelled and am joyful…Thank you!
I’m singin’ in the rain,
Just singin’ in the rain,
What a glorious feeling,
I’m happy again!
I’m laughing at clouds,
So dark, up above,
The sun’s in my heartAnd I’m ready for love.
Let the stormy clouds chaseEv’ryone form the place,
Come on with the rain,
I’ve a smile on my face.
I’ll walk down the lane
With a happy refrain,
And singin’, just singin’
In the rain.
Dear Brother Eli, sweet Meenakshi, how you make my heart sing. I need to remember to sing and to dance! I forget… I look out at all the cloudless days through these winter months, and worry about consecutive years of drought. NO, Jeannie. To worry is to pray for the wrong thing tsk.
Surely our power, our ability to experience oneness and the divine, lies in praise and appreciation and childlike wonder for the abundance of beauty that surrounds us at every turn. If only we have eyes to see. Surely appreciation (not worry, never from fear)is the only way to pray. Like the little chidren, with hearts filled with joy.
How I love you! Deep bows. Bless you.
What a Poet! You are caressing my soul with you flowering words. I actually thought you wrote this today, or maybe yesterday. Why? It is raining in San Francisco.. raining after a long time.. and the grasses are getting greener, now too. Deliciousness, sitting with the poetry-music of Oregon a nice coup of coffee reading the delightfulness of your creation and glimpsing from time to time over the city -which today, in the rain, I cannot see - but I know it is there.
Blessed be you!
And the skies today are STILL filled with the most gorgeous big fat rain clouds, the air this morning so fresh and clean, the promise of more rain to come! Truly, this is manna from heaven! The trees the grasses the birds: we are all celebrating. JOY!!
Jeannie,
I am sorry I missed this beautiful entry! Please keep sharing!
I love the rain and am blessed to live in a part of the world that gets it’s fair share (and then some). I hope ouratmosphere continues to give mother earth whatever she needs to survive in every part of the world.
I am dancing with you in the sunshine and welcome you to come visit me here in Oregon to our ever-changing weather. Though, we’ve just had NINE dry days in the middle of January which is quite odd! Never fear - they are predicting rain below 1,000 feet and snow above that!
Happy Inauguration week dear friend!
I’m singing in the rain, I’m snging in the rain….what a glorious feeling, I ‘m singing in the rain !! Yes yes my precious sister, I am singing in the with you. Celebrating all that is Good , Blessings from Heaven!
You fill my heart with so much joy and love, it’s easy to sing in any weather with you…. I love you so much !!
It seems, that you, dear Jeannie, connected earth and sky with rain…
oh! you should move here to Ireland… last summer it rained nearly every day.. fish were seen swimming up the main street of a nearby town!
(So much rain in Ireland last summer that fish were seen swimming up the main street of a town?? I am so moving to Ireland.)
What’s an Aquarian water bearer to do?! California is in the third year of a severe drought. Water has been rationed since early fall. On February 4 the Los Angeles times published this story. It hit me so hard, I thought I couldn’t breathe. I forwarded the clipping to a friend, and what was the response? “Obama and Chu came not a minute too soon. You have to take the optimistic stance, it is a form of prayer.”
Yes I have to take the optimistic stance. And not let pain or fear of illusory worries knock me off my center. Thank heavens for President Obama! Thank heavens for his policy on the environment! Thank heavens for Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, a Nobel-prize-winning physicist who came from UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, where he reoriented researchers to pursue clean energy technologies to help reduce the use of greenhouse-gas-emitting fossil fuels in the U.S. – before President Obama tapped him to head the Energy Department.
YOW!
So what’s been happening? RAIN!! Since about February 8, just before my birthday, big fat gorgeous beautiful drops of grace! Not wispy mists or showers, but big-bodied drops wind-blown into the sides of the windows. And oh! how the birds and Jeannie and over-excited dogs flew and romped and splashed in the puddles.
An article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle said we had a total of 4.41 inches since last Wednesday, almost 20 percent of what we get for the whole season. And a chance of more rain beginning the day after tomorrow.
I look over my shoulder through the window, and blow kisses at the enormous black clouds waiting in the sky.
And when I look into my heart, tears rise. Tears of joy and gratitude, for each and every one of you! I cannot find adequate words to tell you how important it is to have found you, to be on this journey with you, to reach out and feel your presence in this sweet entangled interconnected universe in which we live and love and have our being.
Peace and OCEANS of Love,
Jeannie
May all I say and all I think
be in harmony with Thee,
God within me, God beyond me,
Maker of the Trees.
North American Indian – Chinook
Sweet precious Jeannie
When I think of your Love for the environment and Mother Nature, tears arise in my heart too. Tears of humility and gratitude for having you in our lives.
A beautiful soul who fills us with overwhelming appreciation for our Goddess trees and the dancing ferns that blanket the forest and those beautiful dark clouds that bring nourishment to the guardians of land!
Yes yes, we are interconnected with all beings of the Earth…seen and unseen! It is our interconnection and respect for all that is, that makes us One with the Universe!
Deep deep bows to you ! You are such a Blessing ! You are so Loved !
Peace and Love Surround you and walk with you on your Path !
Diane
may you be surrounded by the luscious green of your beautiful heart chakra in the form of well nourished plants. :-)
For You, Sweet SiStar…as much rain as you’d like to satiate the thirsty earth….Splashing in puddles right along with you…well, no fishies swimming up the road, maybe we can make some paper boats or just watch leaves drift by and inhale that sweet, sweet scent…
OH! OH! LOOK at this picture!!! My heart is so excited and happy I don’t think I can stand still! I am going to reach in, pull this picture out, press it into my heart, and wear it forever. The hills the trees the birds rejoice. Oh my precious SiStar thank you!
LOL :-D I Thank Gaia for allowing me/we to post things like this as comments. It’s a dream come true for me :-P I remembered this pic in my album and remembered this post and…voila! Fulfillment all around! LOL!
Love and More Love~~<3
What a beautiful blog to read, Jeannie. Not only is it informative, but it’s essence is most captured in your writings.
Oh, GOD do I love the rain. One can really feel the trees and other plant life dance it’s inner delight when the rain comes around. It truly is a merry and blessed occasion to be amongst:)
Yes…And I will have a garden this year after all. Northern California needs this grace from the clouds and maybe there is another silver lining in store for us.
Beautiful work Jeannie. It doesn’t take much to change our perception about what we experience. The beauty within the rain is difficult to see at times, but your words show how thoughtless we can be. From one rain lover to another, I love your positive and negative ions.
Love,
Hal