May the rain wet my brain and wash away my modesty

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head. 

Rain by Shel Silverstein

 

How much do I love the rain?  Lots.  Lots and lots.  Especially when it falls on the hundreds and thousands of leaves on the huge fig trees and the sound of its drops ricochets off them.  Ah, what a glorious sound that is. 

And especially when it pours out of dark clouds hovering above this spot of the planet that I happen to be occupying, wrapping me in a cozy solitude. 


Well, I took my clothes off and danced to the rhythm of its gentle crackle.  Oooh...wasn't that daring of me!  But what a deliciously beautiful and nurturing thing to do.  I'm sure the rain approved. 

I happened to watch a documentary some time ago about why we humans wear clothes and when we first started wearing clothes.  Apparently it's got to do with the steady loss or lessening of body hair which began happening some billions of years ago. 

But, it wasn't just to do with the loss of hair.  It was also to do with maximizing mating opportunities.  You wanted to be able to attract a mate and how else to do it without standing out from a tribe of similarly looking dour faced homo saps?  (Ever noticed how you never see a smiling homo erectus?)

So emerged this insanity we now call fashion or, if you want to be posh, couture, and its glorified pimp, haute couture. 

Yep, first we were preoccupied with survival against the harsh elements.  Then we wanted to make sure we found a suitable mate who would help protect us and provide reinforcement i.e. children.  And then we needed to distinguish ourselves from other groups that had similarly organized themselves, the Jones, for example. 

We used clothing to help us along the way without realizing that we were empowering it to such a degree that it began to rule us.  All hail the demigod Fashion! 

Along the way, we got ourselves into such a pickle. What to cover?  How much to cover?  How to cover without really covering?  How to show without telling?  How to tell without showing?  And all this of course got wound up into the disquieting art of seduction. 

     

That's when religion stepped in and decided, well, if there's going to be slaves, we'd better get ourselves a decent share.  Thus was birthed the modern idea of modesty. Perhaps the rain might wash it away??