by Cordelia Riordan

Created on: November 07, 2008

The smell of rain lingers in the air a couple of days before and a day after the rain. It fills my nostrils, my lungs, and my mind. The best part of the rain, however, is when the water falls from the sky, pounds insistently on rooftops and trees, fills the streets with water and washes away the dirt. Rain can be cold, rain can be warm, but all in all, rain is a wondrous part of our world.

Rain has always been my favored weather. Unfortunately, I live in a place where rain is scarce and drought has been in effect for quite a while. Thankfully, it seems that rain is coming more often this fall and winter. The high likelihood makes me very hopeful, and maybe we can get away from the fires and the dryness that permeates the air and sucks the moisture from our bodies.

To me and many other people, rain carries with it a symbolism of cleansing and of purity. Not only that, but rain has a rejuvenating quality. It, combined with the sun, nourishes plants and refills drinking water supplies. The water from the ocean has already been purified by the process of evaporation, leaving the rain fresh and lovely.

There is, however, a bad side to rain, like everything else in the world. Floods cause major damages to property and life. However, that part of rain is an unfortunate reminder that nature is both kind and cruel, and rain - wonderful as it is - is no exception. Some of the downsides that rain can bring have been brought upon us by ourselves. The acid rain that some fear was created by the pollution that those before us pumped into the ecosystem, which made a toxic environment that might be too damaged to fix. When the rains bring floods, perhaps it would be a good idea to do like other animals and move to higher ground. Nature does not discriminate, whether it be to give life-affirming rain or to take that same rain elsewhere to a place that doesn't need it.

Some people feel like rain brings them gloom. This I have never understood. To me, rain is beautiful. Rain is a relief from the heat, from the constantly beating and scorching sun's potentially harmful rays of glaring nuclear heat. Rain is necessary for continued life, and the downsides of rain are well worth the boons of rain, in my opinion.

Rain can be just as harmful as it is good, but still, I find that I'm thankful and happy when it rains. I love rain, with all of its idiosyncrasies and lack of dependability and predictability.

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