Recently I rediscovered my love for cities. I mean, they really energize me. More on that tangent another time though.
Fortunately, a design conference provided me with an opportunity to visit Boston for the first time. Well my first time, with the exception of flying into the airport to then drive to a wedding in rural Massachusetts nearly four years ago. And while the wedding was loads of fun, this time I was able to stay in Boston proper a little longer and really take it all in.
The weather on my first day was BEAUTIFUL and such a warm welcome for this southern girl who prefers moderate temperatures with a baseline of 70, plus or minus five degrees. I don’t ask for much, really... With every step I took, the sky and I both beamed with sunshine. I wanted to spend every minute outside breathing the fresh air and people watching to my heart’s content.
Can you recall how great you feel on the first sunny day of spring when all of the flowers are in bloom and you think to yourself, how could life ever be tough? Well, that is the sort of bliss I experienced on Monday.
If traveling has taught me anything, it’s to make the most of the weather forecast. This makes sense, doesn’t it? On rainy days visit museums and on sunny days get out and explore. Intending to live by this lesson, I launched a mobile weather app to check out the seven day forecast. Quickly I realized that this sunny day I was thrilled to have might be the only one during my stay. In that moment, I grew determined to squeeze the very last drop of goodness out of the day by spending as much time as possible outside. I observed outside. I ate outside. I read outside. I ran outside. You get the point. I literally stayed outside until the sun set and then some.
As predicted, the weather the following day was cold, windy and the sun was nowhere to be found. Instantly, I felt grateful that I chose to enjoy the previous day to the extent I did. This made me think even more. If my awareness of the impending bad weather allows me to fully appreciate the good weather, then is it possible to harness the sun on pretty days to keep us feeling good on the not-so-pretty days? To some extent, I think the answer is yes. We can’t literally bottle up the sun and dispense it on those overcast and dreary days. However, when we make the choice to fully appreciate the pretty days, it fills our cup. It energizes our spirit. It fuels our soul. It allows us to harness the sun for the inevitable, dreary days ahead.
Of course this idea translates to our lives on a grander scale as well. If we can whole-heartedly appreciate our over-the-moon, life is good days then we’ll have a positive reservoir ready for dispensing on the why me, life is so tough days too. Food for thought.
