Rain Rain Go Away

Rain makes everything seem clean. The smell of rain is one of the most satisfying smells in the world, whether it’s on concrete, in the forest, or anywhere in between. You hear many people say that they love the rain, and a few that hate it. It’s understandable when people live somewhere where it rains all the time, but with the exception of those people, I feel like most people enjoy rain in some way. One of my favorite sights is a city, with all its bustling energy and light, coated with shimmering raindrops at night. But at the same time, the sun is proven to make people happier. Lots of dopamine and whatnot. When you have too much rain, you can get the ‘bad weather blues’. How is it that rain seems like would make people sad, and depressed, when small quantities of it make people happy? In reality, not one thing can make people happy forever. The hedonistic treadmill is the idea that not one sustained activity will make a normal person euphorically happy or chronically sad forever. The hedonistic treadmill explains that “ the observed tendency of humans is to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes.” - wiki. Really what sustains happiness is variety. Think about if you ate your favorite food every other day for 3 months. You would soon choose a new favorite and the old meal would lose it’s novelty. I experienced this recently, I started going to this sandwich shop a lot, and after trying all of the menu, I chose my favorite sandwich. I proceeded to eat that same sandwich every time I went, for about 5-6 months. It was really great for a long time, but eventually, something inside me snapped and I don’t ever eat that sandwich anymore. Change is the only constant, or at least that’s the way it should be. For better or worse, eventually you will end up on “a relatively stable level of happiness” no matter what. This is silver lining at it’s finest. And on every rain cloud, no matter what it is, there is a silver lining if you look for it, but at the same time, I like the rain. Or I guess I should say the variety rain brings, the freshness of a rainstorm, if everyday is a sunny day, you inevitably get bored. “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain” -Vivian Greene