Okay, begrudgingly, but not unexpected, my “younger” sister then. I’m all in. Substack really has been a place of enlightenment for me. I’m not on any other social media platform, so maybe those others do something similar, but I’m struck by how many Kindred Spirits I’ve discovered to be here. Testament to how serious most writers are here about writing “who they are” unabashedly and with pride. These are real relationships we are building here—with wistful hopes that at some future point, we just might meet in person. As usual, Amanda, thank you for your lovely engagement.
“I don’t see any other reason to be alive than to be kind. All we are really doing is walking each other home.
“We are in the Universe to inhabit the lovely eternity of our Souls and grow real. Our great duty as humans is to sow the seeds of compassion in each other’s hearts.”
And I love the comparison of being human to raindrops, and imagining us all making a rainbow together. Beautiful!
Moving to Southern Oregon, after living in the Scottsdale Arizona for so years was a balm. The desert is spectacular in its own unique beauty. I do appreciate that. Yet, I didn't realize how important it was for my well-being to live with the more obvious change of seasons. And the rain, the fog, the rainbows - have been healing parts of me I didn't know needed such care. Thank you, Kert. Gorgeous post.
We mean it when we say: “The GREAT Pacific Northwest!” We do promote the idea that it rains all the time here—hoping all the “bah-humbugs” stay away. But, you’re not a “bah-humbug,” so we celebrate your move!!!
I appreciate the welcome, Kert. My husband was born in Vancouver and raised in Portland. He used to say that he’d never move back to Oregon for just that reason. But, he’e been stuck with me for over 40 years, and after all that sunny sunshine we agreed it was my turn.
It get’s better the further up I-5 one goes. Just sayin’. I mean, we have Seahawks and Mariners here. Ducks and Beavers are fine and all, but…. And yes, I’m the official greeter on behalf of the GPNW.
Wow, I didn’t know I was a pluviophile. Here’s some of my pluvi kinks: I’m mostly into the sound, I open windows so I can hear it better. I find it gives me release from any guilt of being lazy house-bound because now you have to stay in, and that’s where I like to be. Unless I’m in a city then I want to be out in the rain. I’m fascinated by the technology of umbrellas, this little portable climate controller, it’s raining all around you but not where you are standing. I like walking in crowded city streets with many umbrellas and the dance you have to do to avoid them hitting each other. And I wish there was a camera above taking photos of all those umbrellas. I’m really happy some artists have made displays of many umbrellas together forming a canopy above. Please do that for a cafe somebody. Make a chain of them so everyone can have one. On rainy days do special drinks for discounted prices including some freebie to celebrate the umbrella canopy fulfilling its destiny. Even the word umbrella is interesting and beautiful. I do hope Rainne Wilson is a pluviophile for his own sake. I like taking photos of water in the air, like at fountains or splashes like the photo in this piece. Something about capturing those shapes that only last a moment is beautiful. I lived in Manoa Valley for two years. Manoa is Hawaiian for rainbow. It’s a valley with tall mountains in a crescent in the back and somehow it’s formed just right so it produces many rainbows. But what I loved most about it was the common phenomenon that it would be cloudy and raining in the back over the mountains and sunny over us in the middle. But the wind would sweep down the mountains toward the middle and carry raindrops with it, the tiniest little raindrops, and so for us in the middle it would be raining with a sunny sky. And the drops were so tiny they were refreshing and cooling. You didn’t need to be concerned about getting wet, it was still warm enough to evaporate quickly from your clothing. It’s such a fond memory, very similar to being rained on by flower petals from cherry blossoms or dogwoods. Another rain I love. Imagine being fete’d by the earth with flower petals like royalty.
I think I got carried away here…the rain made a stream in my mind…lovely piece Kert.
OMG! This comment defies all expectations! You should develop this entire comment into a deeper piece of you own, Jeffrey. It is sublimely beautiful and poetic on its own. If/when you do, I’ll be among the first readers!
Rain does this to people, to pluviophiles. Brings out our poetic soul natures. The Manoan valley sounds exquisite—a paradise for certain in its own right.
I visited Portland, Oregon arriving 12/1/22 with a 3 month Airbnb reservation that I extended for a total of 6 months all because I fell in love with the drizzle rain! I was captivated. After living in Colorado for 26 years where it seldom rains, I found I was thirsty for some humidity and rain. I'm still in Oregon...
The Great Pacific Northwest is a true gem—the weather does allow for one to experience all four seasons—but not to any extremes. The surroundings are beautiful with ocean beaches, a true rainforest, mountains, rivers, forests, and arid deserts all within a days drive of each other. But shhhh….don’t say that too loud now, we prefer the gem to remain as hidden as possible.
Such a lovely way to be greeted this morning, thank you. Always wonderful to meet a fellow pluviophile.
I just read your post on walking from joy to joy—you are a kindred spirit. May I learn your name?
This is getting spooky now…I published a post last year about learning to love the rain! 🌧️
LOL! Looks like we’re siblings from other parents. If I was gonna get another sister, I’d choose you.
Ah that’s a lovely thing to hear 😊🙏 I wonder if we were born around the same time of year? My birthday is September…
OMG—My Birthday is Sept. 28.
No way! Mine is the 23rd!
I was a child of the 70’s and 80’s—well, graduated HS in ‘84.
I was born in 1972 so also a child of the 70s and 80s.
Okay, begrudgingly, but not unexpected, my “younger” sister then. I’m all in. Substack really has been a place of enlightenment for me. I’m not on any other social media platform, so maybe those others do something similar, but I’m struck by how many Kindred Spirits I’ve discovered to be here. Testament to how serious most writers are here about writing “who they are” unabashedly and with pride. These are real relationships we are building here—with wistful hopes that at some future point, we just might meet in person. As usual, Amanda, thank you for your lovely engagement.
I love this:
“I don’t see any other reason to be alive than to be kind. All we are really doing is walking each other home.
“We are in the Universe to inhabit the lovely eternity of our Souls and grow real. Our great duty as humans is to sow the seeds of compassion in each other’s hearts.”
And I love the comparison of being human to raindrops, and imagining us all making a rainbow together. Beautiful!
Thanks for posting, Kert.
Moving to Southern Oregon, after living in the Scottsdale Arizona for so years was a balm. The desert is spectacular in its own unique beauty. I do appreciate that. Yet, I didn't realize how important it was for my well-being to live with the more obvious change of seasons. And the rain, the fog, the rainbows - have been healing parts of me I didn't know needed such care. Thank you, Kert. Gorgeous post.
We mean it when we say: “The GREAT Pacific Northwest!” We do promote the idea that it rains all the time here—hoping all the “bah-humbugs” stay away. But, you’re not a “bah-humbug,” so we celebrate your move!!!
I appreciate the welcome, Kert. My husband was born in Vancouver and raised in Portland. He used to say that he’d never move back to Oregon for just that reason. But, he’e been stuck with me for over 40 years, and after all that sunny sunshine we agreed it was my turn.
It get’s better the further up I-5 one goes. Just sayin’. I mean, we have Seahawks and Mariners here. Ducks and Beavers are fine and all, but…. And yes, I’m the official greeter on behalf of the GPNW.
Wow, I didn’t know I was a pluviophile. Here’s some of my pluvi kinks: I’m mostly into the sound, I open windows so I can hear it better. I find it gives me release from any guilt of being lazy house-bound because now you have to stay in, and that’s where I like to be. Unless I’m in a city then I want to be out in the rain. I’m fascinated by the technology of umbrellas, this little portable climate controller, it’s raining all around you but not where you are standing. I like walking in crowded city streets with many umbrellas and the dance you have to do to avoid them hitting each other. And I wish there was a camera above taking photos of all those umbrellas. I’m really happy some artists have made displays of many umbrellas together forming a canopy above. Please do that for a cafe somebody. Make a chain of them so everyone can have one. On rainy days do special drinks for discounted prices including some freebie to celebrate the umbrella canopy fulfilling its destiny. Even the word umbrella is interesting and beautiful. I do hope Rainne Wilson is a pluviophile for his own sake. I like taking photos of water in the air, like at fountains or splashes like the photo in this piece. Something about capturing those shapes that only last a moment is beautiful. I lived in Manoa Valley for two years. Manoa is Hawaiian for rainbow. It’s a valley with tall mountains in a crescent in the back and somehow it’s formed just right so it produces many rainbows. But what I loved most about it was the common phenomenon that it would be cloudy and raining in the back over the mountains and sunny over us in the middle. But the wind would sweep down the mountains toward the middle and carry raindrops with it, the tiniest little raindrops, and so for us in the middle it would be raining with a sunny sky. And the drops were so tiny they were refreshing and cooling. You didn’t need to be concerned about getting wet, it was still warm enough to evaporate quickly from your clothing. It’s such a fond memory, very similar to being rained on by flower petals from cherry blossoms or dogwoods. Another rain I love. Imagine being fete’d by the earth with flower petals like royalty.
I think I got carried away here…the rain made a stream in my mind…lovely piece Kert.
OMG! This comment defies all expectations! You should develop this entire comment into a deeper piece of you own, Jeffrey. It is sublimely beautiful and poetic on its own. If/when you do, I’ll be among the first readers!
Rain does this to people, to pluviophiles. Brings out our poetic soul natures. The Manoan valley sounds exquisite—a paradise for certain in its own right.
Yeah this was like a stream of consciousness that felt really nice, maybe you’ve helped me discover a new writing format I would enjoy.
Oh, go with it, please! I think you’ve got game there!
I visited Portland, Oregon arriving 12/1/22 with a 3 month Airbnb reservation that I extended for a total of 6 months all because I fell in love with the drizzle rain! I was captivated. After living in Colorado for 26 years where it seldom rains, I found I was thirsty for some humidity and rain. I'm still in Oregon...
The Great Pacific Northwest is a true gem—the weather does allow for one to experience all four seasons—but not to any extremes. The surroundings are beautiful with ocean beaches, a true rainforest, mountains, rivers, forests, and arid deserts all within a days drive of each other. But shhhh….don’t say that too loud now, we prefer the gem to remain as hidden as possible.