There are moments in life where we tend to move too fast, but if you slow down to watch each raindrop, drawn down by gravity’s silent pull, you are reminded of the importance of slowing down and acknowledging the beauty often overlooked beyond the surface.  “As One Listens To The Rain” by Octavio Paz includes some of the most essential life lessons that I have learned. I can personally connect to the subtle yet powerful insights that show the importance of being in the moment and how, if you’re not, you might miss out on the little things. 

Over the years, I’ve learned the value of being present, being in the moment, taking a second to take in every inch of the world around me, the perfections, imperfections, and the unique facets of life. The presence of nature inspires us to live in the moment and to be more observant of the small details surrounding us. In this poem, Paz fashions a water motif through repeated mentions of water in different contexts, including rain, steam, and tears. These varied examples portray how water never stops flowing and are a beautiful reminder of how time and life work the same way.

Through flowing imagery and reflective contrast, Paz shows how, like the rhythm of the rain, life reveals to us the beauty hidden in plain sight:

          with all five senses awake,

          it’s raining, light footsteps, a murmur of syllables,

          air and water, words with no weight:

          what we are and are,  

          the days and years, this moment,

          weightless time and heavy sorrow,

This poem is about the importance of being present and using your five senses to notice and take joy in new details around you that you may not have seen otherwise. I see each ripple of water the raindrops leave behind, reflecting the sky above, reminding me that even the smallest fragments in time mirror something of great importance if you stop to observe them. I imagine the sound of the rain pitter-patter against the clear glass window. The relaxing noise drowns out the distractions in the world around me, leaving me in the now. Drops of rain plummet on my head, and I feel them run down my face. This clears my head of worry and reminds me of the importance of being in tune with my surroundings. The thick air smells of moss, recalling memories of jumping in the puddles when I was a little girl, moments I didn’t know were forgotten until they returned. As I tilt my head back and stick my tongue out, I taste the freshness of the rain, bringing me back to these times of joy and laughter.

This poem discusses opposites and how others may look or see the same picture, but perceive different messages, reminding me of memory, time, and emotions, using the symbol of rain again. Water is compared to air, and air is compared to time. The words on this page explore these comparisons: how time flows like water, always in motion and evolving.

Since I was little, my parents have always told me to savor and enjoy the moment because you can’t rewind time. Like flowing water, life just keeps going. And if you’re not present, you might miss the little, but most important things in life.  

Specific images bring up the idea that emotions and life come and go, and are ever changing, just like rain, fleeting and light, and once in a while heavy and sorrowful. The images in Paz’s writing give feelings of comfort, airy and fleeting, yet heavy. He uses writing techniques such as personification when he writes “light footsteps, thin drizzle.” This brings the water to life, demonstrating rain’s impact on us.

Reading this poem, I feel as if I’m at the beach, the wind blowing through my hair, the sand underneath my feet, and the sun beaming down on me, making me feel carefree. This water symbol changes the flow of a reader’s mind, leaving us with this lingering idea in the back of our minds, light, weightless, and free flowing. 

This idea of time can be generalized to many situations in life. For example, you must have the mindset of letting ideas roll off your back instead of overanalyzing everything, just like how water flows. Sometimes the stream of water is calm, but other times the water becomes rocky and challenging to cross, just like white water rapids. I have trouble letting things just roll off my back, but when I take a step back, I realize that what I’m so fixated on is not worth so much time and effort. This poem highlights the importance of being in the moment and, more significantly, being able to identify the little aspects that make life worth living.