The interactive rain website that brings me temporary peace online

This post is part of Hard Refresh, a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.

When I'm seeking feelings of peace and tranquility, the internet is not the first place I look. But if I absolutely have to stay online, I open a tab for LookingAtSomething.com, a website created five (yes, five) years ago by artist Rafaël Rozendaal.

It's an unassuming website. In fact, the only thing on it is an animation of a rain shower. Move your cursor down toward the bottom of the window and the shower will turn into more of a storm. (You'll even see flashes of lightning.) Move your cursor up and the rain will stop entirely, replaced by chirping birds and blue sky. If you'd like to create a brief gust of wind, move your cursor to the right or left.

That's all you can do, and it's more than enough. Despite its incredibly simple design and limited functionality, it manages to be one of the most relaxing places I've ever come across online.

I believe this is for two reasons. The famously soothing effects of rain sounds, of course, is one of them. But as a person with middling anxiety, the interactive element is what seals the deal. Yes, it's an incredibly simple function, but the act of toggling the (virtual) weather — turning the rain on and off; making the sun come out, then disappear — makes me feel pleasantly in control. When my life feels like it's perpetually tumbling away from me (since it's 2018, this happens often!), there is solace to be found in controlling the precise pace and noise level of the mechanism I've chosen to make me feel better.

For a pleasant mini-reset, here's how I recommend using the site. To start, close all your other tabs. Put in some headphones. Create a situation where that rain animation is the only thing in your line of sight. Set a timer for two to three minutes — it'll go by more slowly than you think.

Then just play around for a while. Decide how hard you want it to rain and make it so: a full-on thunderstorm, a sprinkle, a light drizzle. Think about whether you'd bring an umbrella if this was happening IRL, then stop because it's not real rain and you can make it stop whenever you want. Create tiny gusts of wind onscreen. Crank the volume up.

If all goes well, you'll feel a little more centered when the timer goes off, if just for a few moments. Here, it's not so much about the longevity of the relief — what matters is that you've sought it out at all.

Let the (fake) rain fall down, everyone.