Monday’s Meditation: On Weather & Outlook

March 31, 2014

One semester in college I took a writing class that required us to keep a daily journal.

After the book had been turned in, graded, and returned back to me, I flipped back through the pages, every one a day in the life. As I did, I realized a sort of funny thing: nearly every entry contained a description of the weather, and the subsequent ramblings seemed to have an uncanny way of mirroring that weather.

It might have been the full page length requirement, or the fact that the teacher would be privy to the writing, but still, it was curious that while writing the journal, I hadn’t been cognizant of the habit at all.

I lived then at the effect of the weather, in both a metaphorical and literal sense. I allowed myself to bend and be bent by circumstances outside of myself, a choice I now see as just that–a choice.

This isn’t to say that weather does not have a real and profound effect on us–I have seen S.A.D. rear its ugly head for some of my nearest and dearest and I believe that shit is real.

But on a day to day basis, for the vast majority of us, weather is just weather. In and of itself it is meaningless, until ascribed by us a subjective quality.

Long ago I guess we and the weatherman decided gray and rainy is undesirable, and sunny, warm days are the ones to live for. And so when the former shows up we drag our boots along, we begrudge each cold, wet drop atop our heads.

But really, all weather is merely the view. How we choose to look at it is up to us.

Even if we can’t truly claim to see beauty in rain and overcast skies, we can decide to find something beautiful about every single day.

If the weather doesn’t qualify for us, then we better find something else: an exciting meeting, a deliciously warm bowl of oatmeal, or the possibilities that may befall us.

And if all else fails, there’s always the old standby: the beauty of another day. Period. Because that never gets old.

 

 

4 Comments

  1. Alli on March 31, 2014 at 7:11 am

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

  2. Jennifer (@thepapersociety) on April 1, 2014 at 4:45 pm

    Love this post, and so encompasses how I feel right now. I too felt often defined by the often dreary west coast weather, and then was relocated to THE coldest major city on planet earth. Everyone at home feels the need to tell me how much warmer it is there, and ask me how I’m surviving. Well, I just do. It may be too cold to go outside, I may miss running more than anything, but the sunshine is blissful, and we just make the most of it. We find other things to fill our time, and just let the weather do it’s thing. It too shall pass 🙂

  3. Adrienne Niles on January 29, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    Can this print be purchased?? I love it!

    • Annie on February 4, 2020 at 1:09 am

      You’re so sweet! Not at this time, but perhaps in the future!

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4 Comments

  1. Alli on March 31, 2014 at 7:11 am

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

  2. Jennifer (@thepapersociety) on April 1, 2014 at 4:45 pm

    Love this post, and so encompasses how I feel right now. I too felt often defined by the often dreary west coast weather, and then was relocated to THE coldest major city on planet earth. Everyone at home feels the need to tell me how much warmer it is there, and ask me how I’m surviving. Well, I just do. It may be too cold to go outside, I may miss running more than anything, but the sunshine is blissful, and we just make the most of it. We find other things to fill our time, and just let the weather do it’s thing. It too shall pass 🙂

  3. Adrienne Niles on January 29, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    Can this print be purchased?? I love it!

    • Annie on February 4, 2020 at 1:09 am

      You’re so sweet! Not at this time, but perhaps in the future!

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply





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