The last few days have been very wet where I reside here on this planet. Over 3 inches of rain have fallen, with most of that falling in a 48 hour span. It was already a green spring and now the lushness has exploded. I love to put on my Wellies and raincoat and go walking in the rain with Dixie. I've gotten to do that in the last few days, careful to avoid walking in the thunderstorms. Sometimes the clouds are high and sometimes they are dark and low. Sometimes the rain is a fine mist and sometimes it falls in great sheets. I feel like I'm swimming when I am slopping through puddles, breathing such moist air, and have water running down my body. In my intuitive energy practice I frequently use the elements with all their healing properties. When I work with water, I am often using its cleansing and cooling aspects. I find that many people grasp these aspects of water easily, enjoy using water this way and tuck this into their tool belts for later use on their own. For others, the concept of using water this way is harder to grasp. I often suggest that they practice while actually in water, whether a shower, bath or a swim somewhere. But for the strongest connection to water, go straight out to water in its natural setting. A creek, pond, waterfall, ocean, or a rain shower. We don't all have access to bodies of water, but most of us have access to rain showers somewhere along the way. Just stand in the rain, turn your face to the sky and bring your awareness to where the water is touching you, your forehead, lips, shoulders, feet. Notice what the water feels like on your body. Notice where the water runs across your skin. Notice what it smells like, what it tastes like. Notice all the sounds of a rain shower. Notice the movement of water and how it is never completely still. Notice the clarity, even with a sheet of rain falling in front of you, you can still see through it. I use water to cleanse and cool when there are physical, emotional, mental, and energetic imbalances. And while rainy days can seem dreary, that is just one way of looking at them. With a gentle turn of the mind, a rainy day becomes a gift. A rainy day is a day of cleansing. Just as the pollen and dirt are washed away in the physical world, so is the stuff I've picked up that's not mine, stuff that's not beneficial to me. I open to the gifts of water and I am refreshed. I am new.