The day after the summer solstice, I posted this entry…about how I was waiting for the heat of Texas summer to broil me.
It has yet to happen.
Odds are, it will happen, but this summer rivals one of the better Texas summers I remember.
It was in the lower 70s today. An area 30 miles north of us almost got almost a FOOT of rain this morning (we got two inches of rain).
With mild temperatures and flash flooding — I am not complaining.
In fact, the weather has made me think…
Change in the Weather
In that entry earlier this summer, I posted this:
I know the weather will change. Our drought will continue, and some lakes will dry up completely this year. The sun will be big and bright and offer no quarter as it sears all it touches.
Those days are coming, but for now, the weather is nice.
And…writing and other things I’m doing are also nice, lately.
Do Not [Try to] Predict the Future
It’s easy to say, “I’m usually busy in the summer at my day job; therefore, I will be busy and unable to write…”
It’s easy to say, “It’s hot in the summer; therefore, I will wait for cooler weather to get back to walking…”
It’s easy to look at any pattern and call a near future that may or may not happen…
This is another novel that will not work out as planned…
This is another exercise program that will not work out as planned…
This is another job that will not work out as planned…
I could say those things, but this week, things I didn’t expect to come together with the current novel came together. It’s been a good week for walking and moving my body. My day job isn’t a job I hate. (An improvement from the past.) Things are comfy and good.
The Funny Thing about Predictions
Anyone who knows me knows I think predicting the future is a silly thing, but every day, people tell others what will happen. Worse: many tell themselves what to expect. We often predict futures that never happen…or futures that never happen because we’ve convinced ourselves it’s not worth the effort because things always seem to work out a certain way.
This morning, one of the major interstates in America was cut off because almost a foot of rain fell in a matter of hours
. That’s a bit much, but I’ll say this about the summer rains: they are cleansing!
And, just like the summer rains this season, if you allow yourself to just go with the flow, all your preconceived notions about the immediate future may be washed away…revealing something rather wonderful!
Nice thoughts here, Christopher. So often, we make our own patterns as you’ve observed here. If the patterns are positive ones that affirm good things in our lives, the only need, for me, is to keep those patterns in the forefront. If they’re of a more negative nature, they can certainly be turned around. I’ve been working on one of my “negatives” this week and it’s been good.
Mary: I can usually find something I suppose I could get negative about. But it’s easier, and more productive, to look at things going right. Even when there were times in my life everything seemed to be going wrong, I could still juggle, write, and do a few things that made me happy because I made the effort at some point in my life. And in recent years, depression (or even being bummed about something for more than a couple hours) is almost foreign to me.