I enjoy this poem for the lesson it teaches about patience. It is often in these moments, listening "to the rain in the mountain," we learn a great deal about ourself.

The samurai found an honorable death in battle. In Basho's poem, the futility of our efforts becomes plain. All we have are our actions in any given moment.

The human condition desires control. Control of our circumstances, our environment, yet very little of ourselves. Takahama's haiku challenges us to embrace change.