Bright Side to Gray Days
It seems the weather is all anyone can talk about lately. We are in the gray days before Spring hits us. The vestiges of Winter are fading, and we are left with a chilly world that is often sunless and wet. Random garbage is piled on the sides of the road because our street sweeping hasn't started yet. Basically, outside it looks the way most of us feel...waiting for the grays to go away.
This time of year it is tough to keep up one's spirit. It is a little like our darkest days of winter. There is very little sun to enjoy and what little time you spend outside is spend ducking from the cold raindrops that seem to be ever present.
If you can't relate, go in your bathroom with a flashlight and an umbrella and shut off the lights. Turn on the flashlight and put it on the ground under a towel. Then turn on the shower to a cold setting and get in with your umbrella and stand there for a bit under the umbrella. If you are really a go-getter, toss in some random dirt and wrappers to really set the mood.
That's how it has been around here lately.
Now, I might sound like I am whining, and on some level I am. Cold miserable weather does try a person.
Ultimately, we have had to make our own sunshine lately, and I think that is very important to be able to do when these gray days hit. Being able to bring out the sunshine in ourselves. In the past 2 days, I have been less than sunny. Then I realized that the weather might be dull, but why should I be? I'm just adding to the already miserable condition.
Now, by all accounts I could list a reason to be as miserable as the weather, and they would be valid reasons. Then I ask myself again...why?
One of the best things my parents taught me was there is usually someone who is worse of than I was at the time. It is a pessimistic way of saying "look at the bright-side." So...bright-side here I come.
Yes, it is gray and dreary out there. But all of that rain is helping our little buds on the trees grow. Yes there is trash in the street, but soon it will be swept away. The sun might not be shining, but in a day or two, we will get to see and and appreciate it all the more. As for the cold weather...it's March in Chicagoland, let's just be happy it isn't snow and ice.
I think about this now, because I know in July we will all be saying "it is too hot and dry outside, we can't do anything!" Never let it be said that the weather in Chicagoland isn't a conversation starter.
See, another bright-side...the ability to start conversations with total strangers because of lousy weather conditions. Who said there isn't a bright-side to these gray days?
This time of year it is tough to keep up one's spirit. It is a little like our darkest days of winter. There is very little sun to enjoy and what little time you spend outside is spend ducking from the cold raindrops that seem to be ever present.
If you can't relate, go in your bathroom with a flashlight and an umbrella and shut off the lights. Turn on the flashlight and put it on the ground under a towel. Then turn on the shower to a cold setting and get in with your umbrella and stand there for a bit under the umbrella. If you are really a go-getter, toss in some random dirt and wrappers to really set the mood.
That's how it has been around here lately.
Now, I might sound like I am whining, and on some level I am. Cold miserable weather does try a person.
Ultimately, we have had to make our own sunshine lately, and I think that is very important to be able to do when these gray days hit. Being able to bring out the sunshine in ourselves. In the past 2 days, I have been less than sunny. Then I realized that the weather might be dull, but why should I be? I'm just adding to the already miserable condition.
Now, by all accounts I could list a reason to be as miserable as the weather, and they would be valid reasons. Then I ask myself again...why?
One of the best things my parents taught me was there is usually someone who is worse of than I was at the time. It is a pessimistic way of saying "look at the bright-side." So...bright-side here I come.
Yes, it is gray and dreary out there. But all of that rain is helping our little buds on the trees grow. Yes there is trash in the street, but soon it will be swept away. The sun might not be shining, but in a day or two, we will get to see and and appreciate it all the more. As for the cold weather...it's March in Chicagoland, let's just be happy it isn't snow and ice.
I think about this now, because I know in July we will all be saying "it is too hot and dry outside, we can't do anything!" Never let it be said that the weather in Chicagoland isn't a conversation starter.
See, another bright-side...the ability to start conversations with total strangers because of lousy weather conditions. Who said there isn't a bright-side to these gray days?
Of all the times I've been to Chicago, I think autumn has been my favorite weather-wise. Then again, as long as I get to go to the Field Museum at least once to say hello to Sue, I tend to count it as a spectacular trip.
ReplyDeleteI applaud any effort to look on the bright side of things as it sometime seems so impossible for me to do so. It's a welcome outlook for me to read about and helps me to do the same.
Sometimes we have to dig deep for the bright-side. I'll admit I had to do it for this one. One thing I have found out...moods are catchy. A bad mood can be passed on just like a good mood. So, let's pass on good moods.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the Field Museum is just great. I will say Chicago's museums really are a the bright spots, too.