The Weather Connection

Years ago I realized a connection between weather and the way I feel inside physically and emotionally. I recall getting books out of the library on the topic so I know it was pre-internet. That is when I learned about melatonin and light therapy and the liquid spaces between our bones that swell and contract like balloons. I knew of people who had pain in muscles and joints when there were barometric changes in the atmosphere. I had observed the collective crankiness of my four children usually simultaneously with my crankiness when the weather was changing. Once I awakened to this connect, I started to notice a few things. Whenever I had a restless night’s sleep, I’d hear the next day all sorts of people complaining about their poor night’s sleep. The same is true of mood swings. When I felt blue, others would report the same, especially those prone to depression. When I felt positive, I’d find myself greeted with smiley faces all day. I still notice this weather connection today.

I had a restless night’s sleep last night. I’d had an encounter with some people that was upsetting to me and thoughts about them swirled in my head as I tried to fall asleep and they were still there as I woke this morning. When it was time for the sun to come up, I poured a cup of coffee and stepped out into my yard. It had rained during the night and there was still a thick blanket of clouds above. Imagine if you will the clouds being like a dome formed over your territory and your thoughts being little messages originating in your head and being sent out into the universe. On clear days, they travel out and out until they sort of dissipate like the exhaust that trails a jet plane flying over. But on cloudy days, it seems that the thoughts hit that dome and bounce right back at me. These are days when I seem to be thinking the same thoughts over and over again. It’s crazy. It seems true whether the thoughts are negative or positive.

I may be crazy. You probably think so right now. But I challenge you to become observant. See if you can see the same thing. There is a tremendous freedom in realizing the connect of which I speak. Weather changes, that is a given. So when I find myself obsessing over something and I note the cloud cover, I just tell myself “This shall pass.” Then I try, whenever I am aware of my crazy repetition of thoughts, to let go and exercise a little choice in what I am going to think about. If my thoughts are positive, I may consciously choose to entertain them a little longer.

It is still cloudy and this is a day when I will be meeting with lots of people in a variety of situations. I have already prayed that I might be conscious of the connect so that I can maintain a positive attitude and so that I can be tolerant and forgiving of others. At some point the clouds will part and the sun will come in again.