Quick Thoughts: The Weather Perspective

Growing up in Southern California, I was very much used to the "curse" of the eternal summer.

It wasn't unusual to see sunny and 75 degrees for weeks on end. And in those occasional instances when it would rain, it was usually predicted far in advance to a point that it became an event to wait for the precipitation to fall. When that would happen, time just seemed to stand still, a mystic feeling would come over me as the world was being cleansed of the weeks of built up smog and grime on the roads. For just a few moments, I could sit back, watch the rain come down, and hide away for a while.

The rain carried a whole different aura during my time in the Midwest. When it poured, it was unpredictable and in most cases, relentless in its approach. It came in bursts and it disappeared as fast as it appeared. Us Californians consider the rain to be a major event. In my former life in Ohio, it was just another Tuesday. It was, drop by drop, annoyance and inconvenience. For me, it brought out a yearning for sunnier days, both in the weather and in the corners of my own mind.



In my second week back home, I will witness [what has been predicted to be] the biggest rain storm to hit Southern California in two years. The media is all hyping it up, the sandbags are being filled, and the rain gutters are being cleared in anticipation for this long-awaited deluge. As I wait for these events to unfold, I am amused by the excessive alertness of the residents who are about to experience what I saw on any given day in Ohio.

This brings me back to my thoughts on perspective. Unless you've seen or lived in a place where weather actually changed, posed a threat to your daily safety on the road, or for the motorcyclists out there, forced you to completely change your wardrobe midway through a ride then back again, any changes to the every day norm seem more daunting than they truly are. Perhaps this is a giant metaphor to the life transition that I am currently experiencing. I've been through one unexpected life storm already and have done more than survive the torrent. In the calm after this first initial strike, I have been able to point myself in the direction of home and make my way back. Now I encounter another storm and I once again must pass through it. But I do it with the constant reminder that, like the real rain, it is a temporary state of events and that it will be sunny again.

Change is inevitable. Facing it is a choice, and how it is faced is a reflection of your character, your resilience, and your mental fortitude. Believe me, I wish I didn't find myself in such a situation, but without these challenging moments, I would never know of the true feeling of the warmth of the sunniest of days. I only hope to feel that warmth sooner than later. But for the time being, I'm just going to try to stay dry.