Song: "Listen to the Rain" by Evanescence
Why on earth did Blogger remove the links to interests/shows/etc. on my profile page? This is lame. I liked clicking on them to find other blogs that discussed topics relating to said interests.
Anyway.
I started off this blog talking about music, and now I finally feel like talking about it again. :P
This song has been on my mind a lot lately, because rainy season is almost upon us. While early- and mid-spring days filled with rain and clouds can be depressing at times, ultimately they are a beautiful thing. They are a sign that late spring and early summer will be filled with color, life, and light. We can't have the lovely green foliage of summer without some good rain, and I say this as someone who strongly prefers sunshine and warmth. Additionally, walking in the rain is way more fun than walking in the snow.
Speaking of which, I am in need of rain boots and better windshield wipers. But right now the weather keeps dipping in and out of snow, as March is wont to do. Oh, and Lagoon is opening on Saturday!!!
Back on topic...Here is a lyric video of this lovely song!
A little bit of background: This song was apparently written by Amy Lee for her high school choir to perform. It somehow didn't make the cut for their Origin album, which I find...interesting. Amy has a tendency to hate a lot of her songs that I end up loving, such as "Anywhere" and "Understanding", which I should really talk about at some point. I don't think she hates this one, but I guess I'm just surprised it wasn't on Origin.
Lyrics:
A beautiful personification of rain. What is it trying to tell us?
I've thought a lot about the ephemerality of certain characteristics of water -- raindrops, snowflakes, ripples in the pond, waves in the sea. Water is eternal -- that is simply how the cycle works -- but the features of water are often so transient. So I haven't updated my Pokemon fanfic since like 2010 (due to plot issues and trying to balance it with my original fiction, though I WILL get back into it this year), but one of the Fakemon I invented for it is based on a ripple in water. It spontaneously bursts into life in ponds, puddles and lakes during storms, when raindrops hit the surface of enchanted water. Its entire life only lasts for that split second unless a trainer can chuck a Net Ball or a Quick Ball at it, and manage to capture it, thereby saving its life. It is the only way it can exist for a long time, or reach its evolved form (a design that I really, really like...one day I'll put it up here). I haven't figured out the exact logistics of how it will work, but right now I'm toying with the idea of only being able to release it from its ball into a body of water, or having some sort of portable water thingy like those weird aquarium belts.
Similarly: My dad and I did quite a few runs during Tropical Storm Lane in 2018 while dropping off Ashley at BYU-Hawaii. As the storm relaxed into a tropical depression, we still kept up our daily running routine. And on the final few days, Hawaii was back to its normal splendor. I thought a lot about rain then, too. Even enormous storms that cause damage will eventually end. And rain isn't so bad when the weather is warm; when you're running through sheets of water and gale-force wind whipping through the palm trees and threatening to knock you off your feet; when the green of the empty golf course stands in stark contrast to the grim gray skies above you. Instead of being sad, it becomes beautiful. Exciting. Ephemeral, but powerful.
And the rain is weeping. Ugh, I love that so much. I don't care that it's cliche. I don't care if it's overdone and my poetry professor would have hated it. Don't care. I love it anyway. Sometimes I get kind of emotionally dead, especially during cold and dark days in the late winter and early spring, and on those days I rely on the rain to weep for me.
For a while, I was simply listening to this song for the haunting melody and lovely sounds of sighing rain. But when I started paying more attention to the lyrics, this part brought me to the verge of tears. I think it is very easy to forget about the love that is all around us during our short little sojourn in this broken world. I think a lot of the time I was bitter and angry because I couldn't find the kind of love that I wanted. But there was so much love around me from family and friends; from God and Christ even. It was just a different kind of love. I had just never really thought much about it -- this is something that many other people do not grow up with. I had reaped its blessings for so long that I had just sort of become numb to it. Mind you, I still struggle with this, and that's a huge part of the reason why I love this song so much. I have to remind myself -- if I spend so much time being angry and unhappy because I don't yet have what I've been dreaming of, I will be ignoring what the Lord is trying to teach me at this point in my life.
It is so easy to feel alone even when you're surrounded by people. I think what we really crave as humans is emotional connection. We need physical touch, too, a need that was largely forgotten during the coronavirus panic. But even more than that, we need that emotional connection. Thankfully, we are never going to be fully cut off from that.
God is with us. I sort of think of this as both God and the person who I've been searching for. She cannot be far now.
This last stanza fills me with a lot of peace. You can do what you dream. I can figure out the crappy plot weeds I've been wading through with Carnivile. I can become an incredibly skilled programmer. I can teach myself all the areas I feel I'm lacking on. I can move from being one of the weakest artists in the animation program to one of the strongest. I can. And I will. I just have to listen. To the rain, to the spiritual promptings, to everything.
The part where the lady whispers Liiiisssssten... the very last word of the song...fills me with chills every single time. My arms erupt in goosebumps, and my entire body shivers. The last note seems to echo, leaving me with a feeling of stillness. It always takes a few minutes to recover before I can start listening to another song. I guess that's just a testament to this song's power.
The transitional season of early spring is almost upon us, and it is a lovely thing. Unlike fall, which -- while colorful and filled with fun activities -- is the first descent into the madness and darkness of winter, spring is the world becoming tamer and more bright. Even the oceans on the north shore of Hawaii grow calm, like a giant bath teeming with sea life. Someday I want to visit Hawaii in the spring, to see how the water transitions. Even here in Utah Valley, the water park websites are slowly beginning to figure out their schedules. It looks like the 28th of May, a Friday after work, is going to be the first day to enjoy summer and sunshine and warmth. Unless Provo Rec Center decides to open a week early, but I doubt they will. With the Grand Canyon coming up the weekend before that, and me finally getting more serious about weight lifting and running and walking in preparation...things are looking up.
Just remember to listen to the rain.
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