Embrace Mother Nature

I guess I’ve finally gone native. It snowed here yesterday, and I was indignant along with the other Seattleites. After all, it’s almost the end of February. The horror of it all!

This seems strange sentiment coming from a native New Yorker who lived for thirteen years in Minnesota. In my heart and in my head, I know we are lucky to get a mere dusting of snow in February when the heaviest accumulations hit Minneapolis in March, and frozen temperatures occur there well into April. I know that, but I prefer our wimpier West Coast ways. I am tired of the cold, and I was sad to see the pansies weighed down by yesterday’s minor downfall. Now it’s all melted, and equilibrium has been restored. The weather is beautiful today, warm and sunny.

We all adjust to our local atmospheres, although every time I move somewhere new I’m told the weather is atypical for the place itself. Either I am responsible for this shift in weather—and you should begin to do rain dances for me—or there is no typical weather at all. I’m going to go with the second option, because I’d like to think it’s not the third choice, the dreaded global warming. It’s probably a mix of all three.

What can we do about it? Since I don’t really control the weather, try as I might, I’ve got to go back to my Buddhist roots to find some help. Buddhism teaches that attachment is the root of all suffering, and if we can let that go, we’ll be happier. In other words, the only reason the snow annoyed me yesterday was because I wished it wasn’t there. It wasn’t inherently that unpleasant all by itself, and the tiny white drifts actually looked very pretty against the green grass and the yellow flowers. I did not create the snow, but I did make myself suffer for it. Why should I do that, when there’s so much fun to be had? Darned if I know.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

220. What is the weather today? Try to experience it based on what it actually is, not on what you wished it would be.

Start singing

Spring is starting to show its flowery face in Seattle, and all kinds of lovely things are beginning to reach out of the soil. The rains have started again, and everything is full of a sense of renewed possibility. I’m feeling it in my personal life, too. Life is good.

I’ve also just joined a gym, and muscles I haven’t used in a while are starting to wake up. They’re being a little bit cranky with me, but I can’t blame them. When was the last time I called on my triceps to do anything special? I do a lot of dancing, but the biceps don’t get a lot of play there, so things are a bit sore. I’m choosing to see it as a sign of progress.

I ended up having a very intriguing experience at the gym yesterday. I usually walk for about twenty minutes to warm up my muscles, and then I get off the treadmill and lift weights. Yesterday, I was listening to music as I walked, and I was having so much fun walking that I just didn’t want to stop. I decided to go with the flow and walked for an extra half an hour before going on to the rest of the workout. This was really fun, because this kind of spontaneous joy happens to me all the time when I dance but I didn’t expect to see it at the gym.

Sometimes I think I get in my own way by having the wrong sorts of expectations. This was a good reminder to me to experience things and enjoy whatever happens, rather than expecting things to be a certain way. If I’d expected to have a bad time, I would have. I see the same thing in the dancing classes I take. One of my friends has decided that he is going to have trouble figuring everything out. Of course, he always has trouble. When I tell him what a great job he’s doing, he invariably does better until he goes back to expecting trouble. I learn a little more quickly than he does, but not because I’m a better dancer. I simply realize that I might not learn everything immediately, and know that I’m going to keep at it until I do. My muscles will not become strong overnight, and the daffodils will not spring instantly out of the soil, but all things beneficial are worth waiting for. Spring is underway, and it’s time to celebrate that.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

219. The next time you have a big project to accomplish, try to leave your negative assumptions behind you. It’ll be so much easier without your mind dragging you down.