Rainy season musings
Even though it didn’t seem like rainy season would ever arrive this year, it finally did with a bang.
The skies are grey, the temparture has dropped to a comfortable 28 degrees and the daily afternoon downpours invite for endless cups of tea. After an extremely long dry season, I was so looking forward to rainy season to arrive - but now that it’s here, there is a certain melancholy in the air. What to do during all those long rainy days?
It seems as though nature is taking a huge breath after all the heat and dust of the past six months. The crumbling earth is beginning to soften, the greens seem a little more vivid and the birds are chirping a little louder in the trees. A confident breeze sways the palm trees, now heavily laden with coconuts.
Just like nature, I also find myself taking a deep breath. I sleep a little longer in the mornings. My mind is craving stillness for a few more moments. My body is asking for gentle stretches. A cold shower finally awakens all my senses and as the coffee machine grumbles to life, so do I.
A new day has begun. A new opportunity to be grateful, to be fully present and to be creative. Overcast days invite creativity like no others can, because the energy is more gentle. There are no expectations or deadlines. I sit down with a good book and start reading. I’m fingering the thick, yellow pages of my new library book and wonder what kind of story will await. Looking at the title I’m sure it will be a good one - a story of adventure and opportunity in the good old times.
I make a simple breakfast of sourdough, butter and strawberry jam - a treat that reminds me of my childhood. I place the slice of fresh bread onto a handmade ceramic plate, feeling the rough texture between my fingers. The soft butter spreads easily and the jam adds a pop of colour on this grey day.
Outside, the raindrops are glistening on the small leaves of the bamboo hedge and little pink Frangipani flowers litter the driveway. Soft moss is starting to cover shaded rocks and crevices again. A moment later, the sky is illuminated by a bright strike of lightening and a sudden gust of wind is foreshadowing a heavy downpour. The dogs will have to wait a little longer with their walk. Time to snuggle up on the couch.
These days are as slow as they are blissful, because there is a certain un-hurriedness to them. Nature is simply following her rhythm and there is so much comfort in that. The non existence of schedules, appointments and deadlines encourages pure existence.
I have long wished to return to a more analog life as it used to be many moons ago. The nurturing of community, making time for friendships, adventure and lighthearted play. Laughter. Doing instead of watching, making instead of buying, talking instead of texting. Unlearning instead of learning. When we’re time poor, we rely on technology to make our life more efficient, but less rich.
Having time enables physical expansion.
Having time means to truly engage all our senses: Taste, smell, hear, feel, see. Not just fleetingly but to the fullest. Having time means to live life fully, in accordance with the cycles of nature.
So let’s invite the rain and make more time for…
Time.
