The Patter of Raindrops
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“Paris Street; Rainy Day”, Gustave Caillebotte, 1877. Source: Art Institute of Chicago (public domain)
Nature

The Patter of Raindrops

The Symbolism of Rain
Renata Lis
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time 9 minutes

The music of raindrops is much more than white noise. It brings peace and calm, reminding us of a time when the Earth was our home and helping us to reconnect with our roots.

I sometimes regret not remembering the moment I first discovered rain. I wish I could relive that first time now, with full awareness. Did I feel the cold drops on my face on that childhood day? Or did I hear the rain drumming on the ledge of our high-rise flat, only later seeing it on crying windows?

Although unable to recall this, I imagine that I was sheltered indoors, the rain falling in the other, outside world beyond the window. It must have first appeared in my life as sound. Otherwise, its concerts would not be able to captivate me today.

When it starts raining outside, I wax contemplative, becoming eager to sit in silence, eyes closed, all ears. Wrapped in a wool blanket, I imagine that rainwater is rising all around me, the grey downpour floating my body up as if it were suddenly exempt from the laws of gravity.

It seems puzzling that the continuous hum of rain is not as wearisome as other monotonous mechanical sounds. Nor is it ordinary white noise trickling in the background and leaving

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Hot Springs Eternal
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John William Waterhouse, “Hylas and the Nymphs”, 1896, Manchester Art Gallery
Nature

Hot Springs Eternal

The Benefits of Thermal Baths
Renata Lis

Mother Earth has provided us with natural ways to relax and heal our various ailments. All we need do is find some hot springs and hop in. Some people consider it sinful to indulge your body, but practice and science say otherwise.

We drove to Mutnowska Sopka in a massive, off-road bus with big wheels – one of those exotic vehicles that can only be found in the wilderness of Siberia and the Americas. We stood for a moment with our backpacks in the middle of the mountain wilderness – 120 kilometres from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, 800 metres above sea level, at the foot of one of the dozens of active Kamchatka volcanoes. It was warm, there was a smell of sulphur in the air. We could hear rhythmic hisses and whistles accompanying the sudden bursts of steam from the Earth’s interior. After a 30-minute walk, we found ourselves in a valley similar to the Valley of Geysers, but smaller and less well-known. We pitched our tents on the hot ground among stains of sulphur efflorescence, between the bubbling lakes and small geysers. We were near the relatively environmentally-friendly Mutnowska Geothermal Power Plant, built at the start of the 21st century. It was the most awesome place I’d ever stayed.

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