We Can't Change the Weather

 

It’s mid-July.

My grandfather used to say, “In these parts, July is hotter than Hades.”

As a child, I had no idea what he meant, but, as an adult, I do! The past few days have been hot enough to make me long for the coolness of fall and winter.

But it’ll be a while before I see those days again. 

It’s been a strange summer. For the past month, it’s rained at least a part of every day. And many days were dark and rainy all day long.

Aristotle said, “Nature does nothing in vain.” If we believe that, I suppose we must accept that there’s a good reason for dark, cloudy days. The only one that comes to mind is that, after a few of the cloudy ones, we appreciate the sunshine so much more than we might if all days were sunny. As with life in general, we must take the bad with the good.

August will be here before we know it and school will be back in session earlier than usual this year, leaving the kids feeling as if they’ve had no summer, I fear! We've gone from rain to extreme heat - no moderately warm, sunny days for kids to enjoy while school's out.

Happiness doesn’t depend solely on the weather, of course, but drizzly, sunless days do keep children from playing outside – going swimming, riding bikes and  other activities they normally enjoy in the summertime. And when the temperatures are in the 90’s – the humidity stifling – they much prefer staying inside where it’s air-conditioned.

As for adults, bad weather definitely has a lot to do with our moods. If I wake up to sunshine pouring through the windows, I feel much happier and more productive than if I open my eyes to a dark, rainy morning. And I don’t even consider going outside in 90+ degree temps. It would take a major disaster to get me out of the house on such a day unless I hurry directly from the air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car!

I once read a statement that has stayed with me for many years. It went like this: “If you can’t change things for yourself, then you must change yourself for things.”

With that in mind, it’s a certainty we can’t change the weather. So perhaps we can change our thinking about the weather.

This quote by John Ruskin might be a good place to start:

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, and snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” 

Not sure I buy it, but it’s a nice thought! 

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