Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Emotional Meteorology

Turns out there is an article out there about "Emotional Meteorology" as though it were a real thing...the following is not a so-called real thing.

I am tired of snow and winter. Truthfully, it is just the snow but winter is the snow's accomplice and so they are tried together. I enjoy cold weather. I enjoy snow. Each in moderation which is precisely what we are lacking here in Central Ohio as of late. It has been cold, snowy, dreary, and when it was not those things & the sun peeked through, the winds reminded you of the actual state of affairs. Like many Ohio transplants, I am growing cynical and jaded about the wonders of white Christmases.

But today is a day for some Emotional Meteorology. According to the weather app on my iPhone (it is awesome by the way), Columbus is going to be treated to a high of 56 today and, brace yourself, 62 tomorrow! Central Ohioans from Dayton to Zanesville and Marion to wherever those outlets are on I-71 South will see the sun and be warmed by her rays. Pigment and color will return to the cheeks of those lucky enough to be outside today, and the Columbus Zoo will (I am guessing here) see larger crowds. Even as I type, the sun is shinning through the cloud cover and I think I hear someone in the distance singing Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. Wait a second...it is coming from inside my office...

I am guessing that the studies I hear about regarding the weather and emotional well-being have enough factual mustard for me to say "people generally feel better when the weather is better", and while I am not sure places like San Diego and Salinas, California have people skipping down the street, here in Ohio the equation is simple: Sun + Winter Months + (Insert Name Here) = More Excited.

Funny thing is, come summer, I am craving the 40 degree days of winter, and now, after months of snow and cold, I am craving the Spring to Summer transition. Life, like the seasons, happens in cycles that naturally create in us a desire to have what is currently unavailable. When it is hot we want it cool, when it is bitterly cold we want it warm, and when it rains during a kids birthday party we wish and sometimes pray for the rains to stop; rains we might have otherwise welcomed. Longing for a shining sun is natural and celebrating nice weather when it arrives is encouraged but the weather provides proof that living involves cycles that neither you nor I can control.

Good times and bad, ups and downs, victories and defeat, and the like are part of being human. We win some and lose some. Sweet victories and goals met. Bitter defeats and broken dreams. All part of being ALIVE. The scriptures I hold to be sacred show me in Matthew 5:45 that both the sun and the rain fall on everyone regardless. In my opinion, we should be willing to embrace the reality of life: things happen both good and bad. The sun will shine again, and the rains will come again each in their season. None experience the metaphorical sun only, and equally, experience only the rains. Living well, being alive means both sun and snow are to be embraced (expect in cases of injustice).

Today I embrace the warmer weather, the small glimpses of the sun, and the satisfaction of the snow melting without the dispensing of salt. Tomorrow I am told there will be the same. The days to come be they rainy and cold or warm and sunny are outside of my jurisdiction. Whatever they bring, I will be ready to embrace reluctantly or otherwise.

For another piece of scripture on this idea of the seasonality of life, check out the Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3.

Peace



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