Monday, August 25, 2008

Beyond Chemical Reactions

Is rain only a liquid combination of hydrogen and oxygen that the visible mass of accumulated water vapor that floats in the atmosphere -better known as clouds- drop on earth or is there a deeper meaning to such magnificent event? Rain seems to be more magical. There seems to be more to it than the chemical and natural components that make a drop of rain fall from a cloud and touch the earth.
Rain does not only quench the thirst the earth suffers or provide water for crops to grow during season. As part of the water cycle, rain provides life for all the plants, which would not be able to acquire it otherwise. It is bound to happen as a natural consequence that comes about through a series of chemical reactions.
However, the significance of rain is more profound than what that which chemistry is able to explain. Someone once said the rain has the power to make people feel alive when a drop falls on a naked body; by which he meant an arm, a leg or the face. Thus, rain grants the very feeling of being alive. In this sense, rain is very powerful because it provides a sensation that is otherwise forgotten by many. People around the world forget to live, they confuse existence with life and rain has the mission to remind them of the difference. Yet, at the same time, that same person said that, even if a drop of rain represents life, when those drops come together to create a storm or a potent stream, they can also cause death. As well as, bring about terrible natural disasters.
Rain is also a source of memories. For those who come from where the streets are full of dirt due to their lack of pavement, there is not any other smell more special than that of dirt wet after the rain has kissed the earth. That is the well-known smell to those who come from poor backgrounds. That smell brings about memories of rainy afternoons spent out in the playground. Memories of good times come about even when the circumstances were not the best. Such smell also carries reminders of the awful times that were spent on that same playground or watching the rain from the window. Whatever the reasons, whatever the moments, whatever the past, the present always necessitates those memories that travel through time in order to appreciate how far one has come. At the same time, one requires those memories because they feed the subconscious flow of life that keeps one standing after the knees seemed to be ready to give in to the pressure.
For the artist, or the artist-in-the-making, rain represents the most soothing muse in which inspiration feeds. When raindrops fall, they sound like music that alleviates any worry and consequently leads to a torrent of ideas. Every droplet represents a new chance to create a new masterpiece, a verse on a poem, a chapter on a book, a line on a drawing, a stroke on a painting. The rain droplets are like the tears of the sky that communicates to the artists the need for her work whatever form art might take.
There are also those who find themselves in a constant state of weakness of the spirit, for whom the rain symbolizes a refuge. The limited time of a storm or a simple drizzle represents a way to escape the afflictions that decline the state of the spirit. The body also achieves a state of wellness as a result of the comforting sound and feeling of the rain. Such is not attainable by any other means. The spirit cannot fly around with the wind when it is frail; and, the rain can ensure the return of its strength.
At the end, rain is only water for millions of people who are unable to appreciate it from a different angle because they must literally wait for the rain in order to survive. There are others, who have the privilege to perceive rain as more than a part of the water cycle; and, for that, they should be joyful. The idea of a raindrop touching the surface of the earth as a magical event provides a basis for understanding where the mind of those who dream dwells. In the same way, those raindrops in the menacing clouds await the moment when they can kiss someone’s skin in order to gift life…


xoxo,
Poison Drops

©Copyrighted 2008

1 comment:

Unknown said...

too complicated for ma brain...