Rain is such a comforting sound, but are there others?

My wife loves the sound of rain, and so I've come to love it as well. She's certainly not alone, considering a whole music industry exists to create "white noise" to help people sleep. Back years ago there was a huge fad of recorded "nature" music (I swear some sounded like recordings from somebody's back porch). Thing is, those sold like crazy! People have a craving for natural sounds, particularly us city folk. It's comforting.

For me, the sounds of waves (practically true white noise) and the sound of water moving around obstructions. My absolute favorite is the sound of an oar moving through water--it just makes my ears happy. I sure can't explain why I like it, I just do. My guess is most people can't really give points as to why they like certain sounds, or foods, or most anything at all. We like what we like because we like what we like. So, I enjoy discovering what people like and picking their brains for why--yup, I know they haven't a clue, but it's fun listening to their explanations.

The other part of the equation is why we want to listen in the first place. Is it relaxation, meditation, or pure enjoyment? My wife has taught me to slow down and enjoy the music of rain. Maybe that's the greatest value of nature sounds and the reason we should all listen to it. Well, that's my thought for the day. Tomorrow, I'll tackle world peace ... or maybe figure out how to get my cats to sing opera...

- M