The monsoons have arrived.  It has rained three nights out of the last four. Today, it has been raining, off and on, for more than six hours.  There have been times in my life when rainy days got me down.  Today was not one of those times.  I have enjoyed the cooler air and have opened doors and windows to bring it in.  I have loved that my garden has been watered and my birdbaths and fountain filled.  I have found joy in the rumble of the thunder and the smell of the air as lightning splits the ozone.  Life is sometimes like that.  We say we want only sunny days, but if we have only sunny days, then we miss the joys of a summer thunderstorm or the first snowfall of winter.  Life is about contrasts.  When we do feel down (and we all will periodically) we must hang on to the hope that things are changing all the time;  we hope for sunshine after rain and we hope for rain after sunshine.   "If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes."  Clement of Alexandria