A Little Rainy Magic

I am a pluviophile (a lover of rain) through and through. There is something magical about the rain- how it falls and with it brings a scent of newness, as if it is somehow purifying and cleansing the earth and our energy at the same time. It comes sweeping in with the possibility of re-emerging into the daylight as something new, something fresh. 

I remember watching rain storms with my Papa and Grandpa when I was younger. The ones I watched with my Papa in Kansas were very different to the ones in Virginia with my Grandpa, just as the ones I see now in Australia vary. In Kansas, you can see them rolling in from miles away- the dark clouds forming in the distance, moving slowly closer until it pours.

Once I was swimming in the pool at my Papa’s house and we saw those very same dark clouds in the distance. I remember he said I had about 30 minutes till I’d have to be out because this wasn’t going to be a rainstorm. He was right. I swam for that 30 minutes as we watched the clouds move our way, I jumped out when he told me, got up on his deck and in my towel and then the storm hit us. 

In Virginia, from what I remember- you weren’t given much notice. The sky wasn’t as visible due to the trees and landscape in that part of the country and sometimes it felt as if the storms popped up from nowhere.

There was a day I was working down at my neighbourhood pool as a lifeguard, my dream job in High School- especially after watching Sandlot growing up. I wanted to be that dreamy lifeguard but also wanted to be the boy pretending to drown so they could kiss her.

But I digress, there I was working the morning shift with a friend. It started out like any other day- it was a beautiful morning, everything was clean, umbrellas were up, chlorine levels on point in all areas, the snack bar was opening- it looked like it was going to be a beautiful Summer's day. About two hours into our shift and the pool being open, we heard the loudest crack of thunder from nowhere. We blew our whistles and cleared the pool, the lightning seemed to follow almost immediately. As a lifeguard, we always had our shoes at the bottom of the stand, ready to slip on in these exact instances. The other lifeguard and I ran around, lowering umbrellas and clearing everyone off the deck and into the undercover area near the snack bar. The thunder and lightning persisted and as we got the last umbrella down and rushed to the undercover spot, the heavens opened up and it started pouring. Within fifteen minutes we had spoken to our manager, who was at home and able to look at her laptop and the weather, and we made the decision to send everyone home because it wasn’t going to clear up soon. Once everyone had left, we sat down & watched a movie on a laptop while the storm raged on. About an hour later, another call from the manager had us going home as well because the storm was sticking around for the day and might get worse. We drove so slowly, in my grandma's old car, as we couldn't see anything in front of us. Thankfully I only had to drive up the hill to Foxwood to drop her off and then up the hill a bit more to my street and down to the end of the cul-de-sac. It was the shortest and yet longest drive home ever.

When I was 19, I had a friend tell me that when it rains, he knows it's for me. As if I somehow bring on the rainy weather- to cleanse and purify.

All these years later, I can still see where we were sitting when he said that to me and the way it made me feel- it was a nod from my Grandpa, who passed when I was 16 but it really made me think.

Have you ever noticed that when you are watching the rain fall outside the window or when you're in the shower or bath thoughts flow to you more easily? Like you are standing under that water and have a clear channel- you know what to do next, you start remembering who you are, creative ideas start flowing, you think of someone to reach out to, you get clarity on a situation or friendship, you identify a repeating pattern in your life or a relationship. What is it about water that is so magical and purifying? 

Sometimes I think we over complicate our spiritual practice or craft. The true magic lies in the everyday moments. Cooking a nourishing meal with intention, showering to not only cleanse our body but also our energetic body, a smile, a hello or kind word, a beautiful sky or a rain shower that purifies- it is all magic.

This week has been particularly rainy where we are and I continue to reflect on what in my life needs to be washed away? What fears and old beliefs that no longer serve me do I need to release? What insecurities are still holding me back from my potential?

Let the rain cleanse and wash away what no longer serves me.

This rain is for me and for you.