even on rainy days...

How do you feel when it rains? Does it bug you that the sun isn't shining? Do you feel a difference in your mood on rainy days as opposed to warm, sunny days? Can you see the beauty of your world when it rains?

I ask these questions because someone just asked me, "Don't you feel so great when it's sunny outside?"

And I thought, "Yes. And I feel great when it's raining too."

But I didn't say that. I just said, "Yes I do!"

Left it at that.

But it got me to thinking: I wonder how many people allow the rain or overcast or "less-than" days affect them. I wonder if there are other people who adore the rain. I wonder if there are other people who can't resist going out in the rain just to feel it on their skin...and stomp through puddles....and catch it with their tongues.

Dolly Parton once said, "Ya can't have rainbows without the rain"

I always loved that. Back when I was living in Washington (state), where it rains more often than not, I ADORED the rain. I loved how it felt and what it brought. Washington wouldn't be as green as it is were it not for all that rain. The forests there are indescribably stunning. When you wander through them, you can FEEL the life around you. It permeates everything. As if, were you to stay long enough, you would become a tree too. I'm tellin' ya, there's just nothing like it.

Now, living in Southern California, which is really a desert (oh yes it is!), when it rains, it pours. We may go months and months without a drop of rain, but when it begins it seems like it'll never stop. Hence the mudslides and flooding. The soil just can't drink it up fast enough. Lucky for me, I live in a more mountainous area, where the soil does a better job of drinking. So we don't typically have mudslides. Flooding...sometimes. But mostly it's in areas that were once river beds...and some bonehead decided to build houses/roads there. Not so good. There's a road about 5 miles from where I live, way down in the depths of one such used-to-be-a-river places....that floods to the hilt every time it rains for more than half a day. You need a pontoon to get through there. It's cool...except if you need to get past the swell. It's not an issue for me, but I'm sure it is for those who live down there. Poor silly souls.

Anywayz...

I suppose what I'm getting at is that I don't really care what the weather is doing...I'm happy with all of it. I enjoy the sunshine and the warmth it brings. I enjoy the rain and the bounty it brings. When it's cold (to us, "cold" is anything below 65 degrees. Can you imagine??!!)...I wear my warm cuddly clothes and appreciate the heater that keeps my house warm. When it's hot, I find a shady spot and bask in the heat. No matter what, though, my mood is pretty steady: just groovin' in the moment.

How 'bout you?