to watch the rain

i was reading one of my favorite poets, henry wadwsorth longfellow, the other day when i came across this line:

"For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain"

at first, i interpreted this with a bit of a negative overtone: when things are rough, don't try to control them.. just let them be & be what they will (which is true & helpful).

but then i thought more about rain.

i brought myself back to ms. dixon's 8th grade science class & thought about the earth's water cycle. then i got even more curious as to how the heck rain actually happens.

so, on my day off from work, i studied the science of rain (lol this is true).

so i looked deeper into the raindrops-- literally.

there are 5 sextillion atoms in a single drop of water.

in case you don't know what a sextillion is... it's literally one thousand trillion (which to be honest, i didn't know was a number that actually existed).

for comparison's sake, there are only roughly 1,000 more drops of water in the ocean than there are atoms in one drop of rain. that is a lot. like a whole lot.

so why the h*ck am i writing out numbers & analyzing the make up of rain drops?

because that's what we often do as humans with most everything:

over analyze the complexities rather than enjoy the experience.

it's difficult to enjoy a steady rainfall when you're trying to count how many sextillions of atoms are falling down.

i am this way with so many things.

i recently moved to the mountains to work as a ski instructor.

it's been many things, but it's easy to sit & over analyze:

"what am i doing next? was this the right move? am i staying here or moving on? what am i working towards becoming?"

all the while, i'm missing out on what's directly in front of me by exclusively focusing on the complicated complexities.

maybe it's this way for you with your family or relationship or work or all three.

i've often said that anxiety is stealing from that which doesn't exist... trying to reach into tomorrow to find some stability for today. which is impossible. you cannot take from something that isn't yet here.

all we have is the knowledge unearthed on the path & byways that brought us to where we are. & all we can be sure of is the moment we're living in... the sound of rain falling.

the quenched earth doesn't give a damn about how many atoms are in a rain drop.. it simply & thankfully accepts its replenishment with open arms.

i want to live that way: as a parched ground, eagerly awaiting life's next rainfall.

tomorrow will happen. the rain will fall. the sun will rise & bring it back to her skies.

we aren't here to analyze the forecast.

we are here to be kind.

we are here to observe without interference.

we are here to enjoy the weather.

we are here to watch the rain.