Rain and Sun

On the way to 5 Senses to Prayer Book 2 - #31

Hi friends

Today’s prayers again focus on our sense of smell. That might surprise, given the title of ‘Rain’ and ‘Sun’.

I went for a walk yesterday after heavy rains the night before. There’s a stillness after rain. Is it because the noise of the rain has stopped, or is it because the damp earth creates a sound dampener? Is that why they talk about dampening sound? The birds sound so clear, the waves crashing sounded so loud.

My thoughts always seem clearer walking after rain too. I pondered why that could be. Did it have something to do with my senses? I had just read an interesting article about new research being undertaken on benefits to our health and wellbeing that come from scents of nature. In the study scientists propose a framework to investigate how natural scents, both consciously and unconsciously perceived, can affect our emotions, thoughts, and physical health.

The article and research made me think about the smell after rain. I’ve written about it before, in our last year’s Stroll - the smell that is called ‘petrichor’.

“Rain brings us together in one of the last untamed encounters with nature that we experience routinely, able to turn the suburbs and even the city wild. Huddled with our fellow humans under construction scaffolding to escape a deluge, we are bound in the memory and mystery of exhilarating, confounding, life-giving rain.”

― Cynthia Barnett, Rain: A Natural and Cultural History

This is what I wrote in last year’s Stroll.

In a village in India, they bottle the scent of rain. Ancient practices have been passed through generations over thousands of years and are still in place today. When the first monsoon rains fall it’s time to capture the fragrance called Mitti Attar. 

The human nose is extremely sensitive to the smell that comes with the rain. In 1964 two Australians coined the word petrichor to describe the earthy smell we detect after rainfall. It’s based on the Ancient Greek words pétra (rock) and ikhṓr (blood of the gods). Since then, scientists have discovered a bacterial compound called geosmin is responsible for the distinctive earthy smell that comes after the rain. Humans are 200,000 times more likely to detect the smell of rain than a shark is likely to detect the smell of blood. 

There is a theory that the reason humans have inherited this enhanced ability to detect the smell of geosmin is our need to access life-giving water.  Water is essential for our survival and on Planet Earth, rain is how we receive a continual supply of fresh water.  In the Gospel of John when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman about life-giving water, he used a metaphor to describe himself, but he was also asking for a glass of thirst-quenching, life-giving water. 

Rain picks up odours as it comes down and its smell can be different depending on the part of the world where it falls. The rain that falls where I live will smell differently to rain falling where you Stroll. Spring rain smells different to summer or autumn rain. Rain that falls near the sea smells different to rain that falls in the mountains. Rain in the city is different than rain in the bush or forest. Our sensory memory also plays a part in how we respond and react to the smell of the rain, transporting us and connecting us to times and places from our past. 

I love the smell of petrichor. It draws me outside after the rain. Does this smell have n impact on wellbeing? Maybe. Surprisingly it seems I’ve never written a prayer about this before!

When I was thinking about another companion prayer to include I started thinking about how things also smell different on a sunny day. Could the sun also have an impact on our sense of smell? Turns out smell is affected by temperature. The sun doesn’t create a smell, but it does warm the air. Warm air produces more smell.

Want to know how this all works? Here’s an article on ‘Petrichor: What Causes the Earthy Smell After Rain?’ and an article on ‘Can something smell like sunshine?’

The more I explore sensory prayer, the more sensory pathways open up offering new prayerful possibilities. I see God at work in creation including both in the nature around us and what is happening within us. There is so much intricacy and detail interwoven together connecting us and the world God created.

I offer today two prayers focussed on our sense of smell outdoors.

It seems appropriate to end my introduction before we get on with the prayers, with the familiar Irish blessing.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

---

It’s not too late to sign up for Stroll it started on 19 May but there’s time to catch up or elongate.

Know someone who might enjoy our Virtual Prayer Room. Share this post with them.

---

After the Rain Prayer

Go for a walk after rain has been falling. Can you smell the distinct fragrance in the air that comes after the rain. It’s called petrichor and is slightly earthy and sweet. It is caused from moisture from the rain touching the earth then releasing spores of bacteria called geosin into the air. This is the smell after the rain and it seems most people find the smell appealing. This is creation in connection. Rain, earth and people. Breathe in the smell. Let your senses take your thoughts through memories and ideas. Turn your thoughts into a prayer after the rain.