Feeling the Heat and Celebrating It
Let’s look for things to look forward to, things to enjoy, and ways of mitigating changes in our lives so we can celebrate our current situation no matter what it might be.
I remember the first time I experienced true summer humidity. It was at the tail-end of an internship I was doing in college in Washington DC in late May. For those couple of weeks, my whole life revolved around avoiding the humidity or dreaming about dry coolness or coming up with the shortest route to cut through town anytime I had to go outside.
I’m not entirely opposed to hot weather but humidity drives me literally crazy. I obsess about it and dream about it and worry about it. I suppose it’s a good thing that I live in the Pacific Northwest where a humid day here would be a dream in DC.
I certainly recognized the first moments when I felt uncomfortably warm outside this year too. Its such an odd phenomenon to witness the transition we go through in our bodies and our minds to prepare for the summer season. And I never go through that natural transition terribly well. I tend to go through a predictable series of thoughts where first off I try to deny the fact that summer is really here. “It’s only a hot spell I would say to myself,” unconvincingly. Next I try to trick myself into believing that it’s actually a good thing that it’s the summer. I try to think of all the good things that summers bring like swimming in lakes and streams, vacations with family, ocean visits, and so forth. Although that never quite takes me to a place of comfort. And then lastly I tend to resign myself to the fact that summer is here and I’ll have to deal with it for the next several months.
What is it about those transitional periods between seasons that pose challenges to our physical bodies and our mental wellness? Why is it that in the depth of winter all we can think of is the warmth and sun of summer and during the summer all that I can think of is wearing sweaters and feeling cool and crisp air while watching leaves fall?
I guess it probably comes down to an innate desire for things to be different. We always assume that what is coming up next has got to be better than what we currently have. I’ll feel happier when I have that new job. Or I’ll feel more comfortable in my own skin once I start that new diet. Or I’ll be a better friend once I get settled into this new routine and have spare time to call my friends. The reality though unfortunately is that all we ever have is right now. It’s amazing how little control we actually have about the future. So what can we do today to make it more OK to be alive and breathing and feeling the heat even today?
One thing that I’m going to try to do this summer is to pick up more habits and routines that I can only enjoy during the summer. I’m going to plan a trip where I’ll be able to swim at the lake that would be absolutely miserable to swim in during the winter. I’m going to look at my wardrobe to see if there are some fun summer clothes that I could enjoy instead of my regular button-down long sleeve shirts with slacks. And yes, I will also take advantage of air conditioning and cool drinks and sunscreen to try to make the less desirable pieces of the summer season more bearable even when I’m stuck at home rather than enjoying a mountain lake.
Maybe there’s a larger lesson in this. To be content where we are, I need to enjoy the good things in my life that I can take advantage of now, I need to minimize the annoyances and inconveniences that I can that are within my control that are inevitable pieces of my current situation, and I need to look forward to certain events and elements that are best enjoyed by my current situation. I’ve got to think that taking that approach will lead to healthier outcomes than simply cursing the incessant sun and heat. And on a sidenote, I really feel for those in Washington DC. Maybe there are good sides to extreme humidity you can tell me about because I haven’t found any yet.