We were sitting in the house reading and working the other day when it started raining.  As our awareness of the rain increased, so did the volume of rain and wind. Before we knew it, the temperature was dropping, the rain was pouring down, the wind was blowing hard and we were laughing at the radical shift in the atmosphere outside and inside. In those few moments, the summer rain transported us from concentrated effort to the gift of expansive joy and aliveness. 

Have you ever noticed the serious nature of concentration and task orientation? I sometimes get so serious with the projects I’m on that hours go by without even noticing that I’m breathing. Another phone call, another problem, another solution, another concern and challenge in the daily schedules and on and on. . . . Humor, like a summer rain, can cleanse a variety of things that get in the way of enjoyment and lightheartedness. Today I stopped long enough on a computer search to answer a prompt from a friend and spent ten minutes smiling at his off- beat humor. 

What does it benefit us if we gain the whole world and lose our own soulful humor? What good are we if we’re always serious with complaints, grumblings, passive resistance and sourness? Do you ever find yourself awakening to your dour self, catch the drift and break out laughing at your own disconnections and alienations? How about now? Are you frowning, clowning or playing a sour note by singing the blues? Do you wish you were somewhere else, find yourself drifting asleep or humming a tune as you smile at the sun and dance with the moon? Where are you?

Over the past months of working from home, I find myself acting in ways that are sometimes healthy and not. I find myself hunkered down at the computer for hours with emails coming and going and projects piling up crying for attention. I find myself getting angry with myself and tired of all work and no play for me. When this happens and I’m aware of it, I get up and go outdoors, sit on the porch swing, watch the clouds drift by, feel the breeze on my skin and dance with the sun. Eventually a smile comes and I’m home again remembering to be my own best Self.

Summer rain can be literal and metaphorical.  When it’s literal, the rain is actually falling from the sky. When it’s metaphorical, the rain is an ideal, an energy that speaks of lightheartedness, joy, aliveness, generativity and refreshment. Cleansing and cooling the world of all the dust and debris of human heaviness and heated interactions is a thing to be desired and applauded. It’s a shift in consciousness from darkness to light, from sour to sweet, from advance to retreat. It opens possibilities for joy and celebration; pleasant fun in the midst of summer heat. 

Yesterday, after another summer rain, the air was filled with a magical mystical light. The vista across an open field shimmered with a childlike freshness and spoke of a dream that’s always here yet shrouded by our inner fight. Surprised by this dazzling light, we danced our dreams of new days that shine in our hearts with abandon and delight. Wonder of wonders, we smelled the flowers, the fertility of the summer hours. Drifting in sweet melodious revere, we again realized we are ultimately free. . . . Summer rain helped us see, sweet serenity. . . .   

• The next time you experience a summer rain, give the gift of attention to it. Be with it in ways that feed your soul. Open to the possibilities of its presence with your presence.
• Whether literal or metaphorical, give yourself to a summer rain. Allow it to cleanse your  heart and soul of all the dust and debris that’s accumulate within. Let go of all that clings to you and that you cling to. Let it be a baptism for another renewal. Allow yourself to see with new eyes, with sweet serenity. Ahh, the wonder of summer rain. . . .