These are the questions of life that I frequently ponder. Why are storms these amazingly cozy and curled up bouts of weather that just make you want to sit outside with a steamy cup of a chai latte and let the rain sink into you?
I love Mn summers. I loved my Wisconsin summer and my Virginia summer but Wisconsin was a little too cold and Virginia a little too hot. Minnesota, dear Minnesota, gives a flighty combination of both excruciatingly hot days and days where you need a sweater or five. But in between those days, we get pleasant sunny days with a high of 75. ILY MN.
Minnesota summer storms on the other hand are just about one of the most lovely gifts this state gives to us (along with 10,000 + lakes). I think I fell in love with rain when I fell in love with Ireland a few years ago. Why grumble about rain when it gives you a really good reason to snack on coconut milk ice cream w/ pb and watch friends [Not that you need a reason to do that any day of the week].
A thing I have learned in the past year ish is that most of what happens in your day is out of your control. The people you encounter, the traffic (urrgh), the weather, the cute guy in Cub foods… But the good news is, we CAN control ourselves and our reactions.
If you’ve seen it, the movie About Time, gives a good idea of how I want to live my life. Despite how the world acts and reacts around me, I want to be the person that makes the stressed out cashier’s life a little brighter, the person that talks to the homeless man on the corner, the person that loves to wake up just for the sake of it being morning. To enjoy each moment the first time, because well, it won’t come again. Unless you are a time traveler.
So I’ll leave you with this:
“We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.” – Jack Gilbert
Risk being the happy person on the bus today, the one still smiling after sitting in traffic, the one that enjoys the mundane beautiful tasks of doing laundry or going grocery shopping simply because you get to. Its easier said than done, I know. I struggle on the reg.
BUT happy is sometimes infectious and if you are happy then the people around you will be happier which has the potential to make the world around you a happier place.
What will you delight in today?