Haiku about Weather: week 3 of rewriting your well-being
Table of Contents
In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.
Mark Twain
Thank you for joining me on week 3 of your Haiku for You writing for well-being programme, Haiku about Weather! You have well and truly begun the journey of taking care of yourself through the safety of words. I hope you enjoyed last week’s Haiku about Sound. I know my ears have been tingling with all your wonderful haiku ever since.
To any newcomers who are curious about what Haiku for You involves, we warmly welcome you! Head over to the introductory post, which explains what the full twelve weeks of this blog-series have in store for you.
Before we begin, I trust you have found a place where you feel sheltered from any treacherous outdoor elements, or any indoor ones, for that matter. All you require is your pen and paper or computer, and most importantly, you – all of you.
Are you ready?
Take a slow, deep breath in …
…and then back out.
Now, we are going to talk about a subject that often gets a bad rap for being a choice of conversation. It’s predictably unpredictable, but one thing we can be certain of is that even with all its personality traits, it’s here to stay. It’s around us every day and every night and it’s one of the most natural elements of our lives. So, as with many of our themes, let’s talk about it in a different way:
weather.
Thoughts about weather
Did you know that weather can greatly impact your mental well-being? Even if you don’t suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder and you haven’t been caught in particularly extreme weather conditions, changes in air pressure can impact your mood for better or worse. As we humans are creatures of habit, it’s not surprising that it takes us time to adjust to the ever-changing atmosphere we find ourselves in.
Do you find that a downpour of rain can make you feel gloomier than normal? Does the face of sunlight greeting you at the window immediately uplift you in the morning? This is far from unusual. There is a reason why films and books make the bad days grey, and the happy endings show couples driving into the sunset. Weather is like a painting we look at every day, and guess what? We all see art differently. That is why every one of your haiku will be delightfully different, even if you are writing from the same location!
The weather is how you interpret it
By this, I don’t mean that rain isn’t rain if you say it isn’t. I mean, consider how you might think of rain while you are curled up inside. You are listening to the soothing raindrops roll down your window. Cosy, isn’t it?
Now, how do you feel on a rainy commute to work? What if you are walking home after just meeting the love of your life, and a light shower means you huddle together under one umbrella? Would the rain bother you then? It seems as though perspective has a large part to play.
How do we change our perspective on weather?
This is where mindfulness comes in. Weather is far larger than us. It is a perfect example of an external factor we have no power over. Instead, stop and discover the different shades of colour in the sky, or the texture of the ground when the snow falls upon it. Notice the voluptuousness of the clouds that could burst at any moment. Listen to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Feel it on your face. Praise weather’s sporadic contrasts and its hyperbolic mood-swings.
It can be helpful to think of weather in the same way you think of people. When a friend or family member has a stormier temperament than usual, we can either choose to take it personally, or to accept that it is quite likely a result of their own inner barometer. Identify it, separate from it, and see it as the character you are kindly dealing with today. The forecast for tomorrow will most likely be different.
Haiku about Weather: examples of my own
Following the sun - set upon the mountain top, the clouds steal my seat.
Her hot bath awaits - a storm opens the window and the mirror rains.
Running in the wind - blown away into night time, trees wave the way home
How to write your own haiku about weather
Exercise
Exercise duration: approximately 30 minutes
1. If you are inside, look through the window. If you can stand outside, do, but be careful and don’t feel under pressure to go anywhere at all.
2. Close your eyes and then quickly open them. What is the first colour that strikes you? It could be a full palette of colours. Scribble down the strongest ones.
3. Close your eyes once more. What does today’s weather sound like? Is it calm, shy, bold and brazen, or even anxious? How does it feel? Write it down.
4. Keeping your eyes closed, take a deep breath in, and then back out. What can you smell in this weather? Can you smell the earthy aroma of the ground after it has rained? Can you smell flowers blooming, or cut grass?
5. How do you feel? Does your mood fit well with the weather right now? Has it even changed a little since you began the exercise?
6. Think of something that comforts you about today’s weather. What is your favourite kind of weather?
7. Come back to the present moment, holding on to what comforts you.
Just remember, it’s three lines of 5-7-5 syllables! Refer back to How to write Haiku guidelines.
Take another deep breath in, and then back out.
How do you feel?
What if I told you that this very moment is unique? Rain could fall differently tomorrow. Sun may retreat. Wind may not clumsily blow your favourite plant pot over, and snow may melt away.
Well, thanks to haiku, come rain or shine, you have just captured a moment in all its goodness.
I hope you are beginning to feel as though whatever the weather, you can look after your well-being. Who knows? Maybe as time goes on, it will help you to keep inner storms at bay. For now, just remember, rain helps the grass grow.
Now, let’s Haiku away!
If you are happy to, please leave your beautiful haiku about weather in the comments section below each post.
See last week – Week Two: Haiku about Sound.
Vivienne
Walking against wind
Whipped up sweeping swirls of sand
Face begins to sting
Georgia
This is so sensory! Yes, everyone knows this feeling when the sand is stinging your calves or face. Really clearly captured. ‘Sweeping swirls’ says it all! Thanks!
Chris
Just peeped to see if anyone had written a haiku yet and found Vivienne’s . I love it. It conjures up visions of me walking on the Norfolk beaches, one of those lovely windy days when there is no one else around. Even the face stinging is exhilarating!!
Anna Söderlund
Hi! Thank you for your lovely comments and thoughts about my recent posts, somehow I can’t manage to reply to them?
Here are my Haikus about wheather:
like a lioness
in the sun with no mercy
perfect element
fear the cold and dark
in neverending winters
sad for months and months
Greetings to you all from Sweden.
/Anna
Georgia
Greetings from Swansea, Wales to Anna! 🙂 I’ll look into the technicalities behind the comment replied and try to improve it for everyone if I can. Thanks for letting me know! Wow, your second haiku is particularly evocative! It just shows what impact the weather and it’s lack of light can have on us. I love the contrast between both haiku! Thank you. 🙂
Wendy Evans
The sun shines brightly
Calming effect it has brought
Not a sound it makes
Georgia
Wendy, I’m glad the weather was having such a calming effect on you! A lovely merging of the past two themes, actually! Silence and sun sounds like a perfect moment to me. 🙂 Thanks!
Chris
The weather changed quite a bit today.
Here is my morning haiku.
A patchwork of green
Tall Sycamore canopy
Softens harsh noon sun.
Georgia
So beautifully descriptive, Chris! What a lovely balance of colour and texture in this soothing scene. Thank you! 🙂
Lotte Williams
I haven’t heard a good thunder storm for ages and then a couple of Saturdays ago we had one, replacing a boiling hot still morning with a sudden and prolonged deluge overhead… which we all found rather exciting! It was so powerful. xx
The wind has kicked up
Black clouds roll in from afar
Distant thunder yells
Where once it is still
Breeze turns to wind turns to storm
Hot sun vapours cold
Georgia
I am loving reading these! And, that does sound powerful! It works so well that the wind can also been seen as personified and kicking up the clouds in a wild temper. I haven’t heard that description before. It’s great! Thanks!
Daniel Jayne
Sat on our Rattan
We both contemplate sun cream
A glorious day
Georgia
Definitely a wonderful day of warmth. 🙂 There will be many more! 🙂 I like this moment a lot!
Peter Gaskell
Summer asleep ‘neath
cloud blanket, mocking sparrows
splash in birdbath
Georgia
Thanks for this, Peter! I love how the joy of the sparrows in the bird bath shows such innocent happiness within the peaceful moment. Water often has a calming effect too. 🙂 This is lovely!
Meic F Haines
Oh no, bloody hell
Let’s run and get the clothes in –
It’s raining again
Sorry, Georgia….
Georgia
This made me laugh too, Meic. Thanks for the humour. We can all relate to this realisation! I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Daniel Jayne
Haha I love that one Meic.
Chris
Thank you for your kind comments Georgia. Unlike Meic , we have had no rain for ages.. I have wandered round my garden and written another haiku.
Relentless sun sears
Days of drought. Dusty soil.
Sad rose petals fall.
Georgia
Brilliant! I’m glad to see people are seeking these moments. 🙂 I can really sense the thirst of the land here. It just shows how we can all interpret something so differently on any given day. 🙂 Thank you!
Vivienne
Thank you Chris for your comments.
You’ve described exactly my Long walks across the beach with my husband. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this haiku.
Jenny Jayne
Crunch, crisp days no more,
Swallows ride the streams of light
Wisp clouds burn away
Georgia
What a beautifully poetic way of describing the season changing! Such a gentle collection of nature’s images drawn together. Thank you! 🙂
Vincent Jayne
Wind blows where it will
Sunshine dispels low mood
Rain life blood of earth
Georgia
Wow, I can really feel the weight of the weather in each line here! I also really enjoyed the “wind blows where it will,” as though it’s indecisive in all its transitions! 😀 Thanks!
Chris
I am enjoying these haiku, writing and reading them.
I love taking the spark of an idea, developing it then condensing it into a few syllables , swapping thoughts round and trying to find the right words to really express the meaning you want to convey . This takes my mind away from daily concerns.. it is a great tool and help for well being.
Thank you Georgia
Georgia
Thanks so much for this comment, Chris! 😀 I am really enjoying reading everyone’s too, and seeing how every moment is captured so differently to the next – and all so thoughtfully. It makes me so happy when I hear that this is having a positive impact, especially at a time like this – even if it is in a small way. The little things matter so much, don’t they? I’ll look forward to hearing more haiku of yours soon. Thank you again. 🙂
Chris
After a blowy evening.
Wrathful winds bluster
Silver birches bow and sway
Leaves blanket the lawn
Georgia
The calm after the storm! The blanket of leaves, nature’s calm and far more beautiful clutter. So much said in such little space. Thank you. 🙂
Vivienne
I’m Sitting in the garden listening to the birds sing on such a glorious day. Thinking how different it was one night last week.
Sky grumbles and groans
Luminous arc fills darkness
Booming crescendo
Georgia
Yes, it’s funny how so much can change in such little time, and a moment observed in the same place can be so drastically different only a week later! I love the booming crescendo! Perfect choice of description. 🙂 Thanks!
Peter Gaskell
for your haiku and your comments, Chris
It’s a hottest day now isn’t it?
lilac morning run
till overhead sun scorches
scent and my rhythm
Georgia
I know how this feels, at least partly. 🙂 A haiku on the move – I like it! It’s difficult not to surrender to the sun while it’s this warm. Thanks very much for this! 🙂