Management Perspective

Rain.

“I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.”
― Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

First of all, if you’ve not read this book, it’s a great novel written from the viewpoint of a 15-year old boy who likely has autism. It presents an unexpected, unusual and enlightened look into a mind that sees things from a different angle. But, that’s not what this article is about. This article is simply about rain.

It rained hard last weekend. After weeks of drought came a 3 or 4 hour downpour in the middle of an 85 degree hot and humid day. And..for me at least, it was oddly perfect. It helped that the rain didn’t usher in a sudden and sharp drop in temperature. This was not a cooling rain but a mild warm summer rain, the kind of rain that shows up in movies but is seldom seen in Minnesota. I could almost hear the trees, plants and lawn saying, “thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I had several things planned for the afternoon; a few errands to run, some things to do in the yard, a dog really looking forward to a walk. Suddenly all things stopped. They stopped and I waited, then waited a bit more and then finally, conceded that my day was officially on hold…if only for a little while.

I headed to my porch to sit, listen and take in the rain and a few surprising things happened. I relaxed. My mind cleared and I felt as if the rain was doing a meditation for me. I just sat as thoughts and ideas seeped in and out of my mind. I solved a few problems and made a few decisions. I rested. I had a time-out and it was wonderful.

A good reminder that down time can be really, really productive time.

And, so as not to get too sappy, I’ll end as I started with a quote about rain, this one taking on a bit of a different spin.

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent. -Dave Barry

-Maureen