“I hear the drizzle of the rain
Like a memory, it falls
Soft and warm, continuing
Tapping on my roof and walls …”
(Kathy’s Song by Paul Simon, 1965)
When in the ’60s Paul Simon penned these lyrics for his British soulmate, Kathy Chitty, life was in turmoil. Upheaval was everywhere and themes of alienation, disillusionment and protest found their way into the pop and folk music of the day. Then, as now, love seemed the only potent and appropriate way to cope and move through the morass.
“And so you see, I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone, without belief
The only truth I know is you“And as I watch the drops of rain
Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain
There but for the grace of you go I.”
As our global community is faced with a springtime of turmoil, physical separation and disillusionment, everyone must burrow deeply into our soul-cocoons and ask our painful, necessary questions. ALL of life is profoundly affected by this pandemic (from Greek, pan = all, whole, everyone, everything + demos = people). Now is the time—as spring rains drench the earth and bring forth new life—that we ALL must go deeper. We are on the verge of a global “PanDeepening.” We must plumb the sacred interior depths and reflect on our most profoundly held beliefs and ask again our essential questions. Who are we? Why are we here? How can new life emerge and thrive beyond us?
Now is the time—during spring—to listen to the deep wisdom of Earth’s rhythms. Listen to the rain falling soft and warm upon the fields. Listen to the chirps and squawks and howls of returning birds and waking critters as they accompany the lengthening days. Witness the budding and leafing out of our arbor-elders as they stretch and yawn and open to our daystar’s magnificent radiance. What can we learn?
Earth will teach us not only how to survive this time of pandemic, but how to thrive by going deeper and strengthening connections beneath the surface, like the trees conjoining their tensile roots. Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, bathing in spring’s aromas—sensing it all in a deeply experiential way is the first step.
Go outside to go inside. Listen. Notice all the signs of life permeating the rebirthing process of Earth. Take a deep breath. Sense how the rain presides over the mid-wifery of spring itself, watering the womb of life. Take a rain check from worry and anxiety and lean into what is already becoming: new life.
Be still.
Go deeper.
The divine beckons through every drop of rain.
Sense the fullness. What do you perceive?
—Laura Weber, Prairiewoods associate-director and retreats coordinator