Climate change
In life, there are a lot more things that are out of our control, than are in it.
As I write this, I'm trying hard to keep warm in the teachers room while looking out at the grey and bleak sky. I really want it to be spring. I'm tired of winter in a country severely lacking in insulation and central heating. I've sat in this exact spot, and thought the same thoughts almost every day for a month now, but to no avail. In Japanese there's a phrase that communicates this concept fairly well "しょうがない" (shouganai) which means "No ginger"... Just kidding, it actually means "It can't be helped," if you speak Japanese you'll get the joke. The weather in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan is completely out of my control, "shouganai." (Shocking, I know).
One of the more frustrating things about not being able to control the weather, is the way that it affects my mood, my energy, and even my work. When it's grey and cold I rarely feel like doing anything, I have to work extra hard to infuse energy into each lesson, and I tend to be more introverted than usual. This observation isn't breaking any new scientific ground, it's well known that we need sunlight (Vitamin D) to maintain physical and mental health. We don't do so great in constant grey.
Though I can't control the weather, I can control which climate I choose to live. I'm not in control of what the weather does, but I am in control of where I live; some climates have better overall weather than others.
The climate you're living in can have a big impact on what you do in life. People don't move to Seattle for the sunshine, likewise, people don't move to Florida for the skiing. The climate I grew up in is great for being outside- skiing and snowboarding in the winter, and just about everything else in the summer. Because of the climate I grew up in, I developed a love for almost all outdoor activities, if you can do it outside, for the most part I like it. Almost year round, I could be outside in shorts and a T-shirt playing a round of disc golf, fishing, or doing any number of other things.
In college, I spent a couple of summers working in Dallas, Texas. Summer in Dallas is not conducive to outdoor activity. I could still do things outside, but they were much more limited. I could mountain bike, but I'd have to go early in the morning, or keep it to a short and light ride in the evening just before the sun went down. Most of the other outdoor activities I could do either involved lots of water like swimming or kayaking, short durations (20 minutes outside followed by an hour cooling off inside with a route 44 drink), or waiting for the comparative cool of evening. I was certainly still able to do things outdoors, but every time I did I was fighting the climate.
The point once again, is that the climate in which you live directly impacts the things you can do.
Let's look at this in some other contexts. Every part of your life, contributes to the climate in which you live. Each relationship, all of your conversations, every decision.
Your work climate affects how successful you will be. If you work in a climate in which quantity of work is more important than quality, leaving at 5pm will never get you anywhere, even if you accomplish more than the rest of the office does in a week. Conversely, if your work climate values efficiency, staying until 9pm to accomplish a normal day's work is a bad thing. Additionally, your work climate impacts the overall climate of your life, unless you are intentional about keeping that climate isolated.
The social climate in which you live can greatly impact many areas of your life. If you choose to live in a climate of stormy relationships, you'll be like me on grey cold days, depressed and immobile. If you spend a lot of time with people who speak a certain way, chances are you'll start sounding like them. After living in Texas for two summers, I frequently catch myself saying "y'all", after moving to Japan, I'm more and more frequently speaking in Japanese (makes sense, right?). Similarly, your social climate can, and will, affect the way you think and act. If all of your conversations revolve around disagreement, you'll struggle to agree with anyone. If your social climate endorses speaking ill of or acting maliciously towards people with different colored skin, you'll likely begin to think this is normal or okay. If the people you hang around think it's ok to insult the Image of God by calling women inferior, or treating them as objects, you'll likely begin to see women in the way your climate portrays them.
Just as every part of your life builds your climate, the climates in which you choose to live will affect every part of your life.
As I stated, weather is out of our control completely, but a person who hates rain would be a fool to live in seattle.
A lot of times we choose to live in a certain climate, despite knowing that we can't stand the weather. You may not be able to control when the storms come, but you most certainly are in control of the climate you live in. If it seems like your climate has become overwhelmingly stormy and grey, maybe it's time to consider a climate change.
Don't let bad climate dictate your life; choose the climate that will encourage you to love the people around you to the fullest extent.
