The Turnaround

​It's windy out there at the moment. I can hear it on the window, and can see the close-to horizontal rain. I can also feel a surge of excitement when the weather takes a dramatic turn - which seems to happen more when wind is involved.
 
The British love the weather, we get a lot of it. It changes our environment so rapidly to one that is easier or harder to navigate day-by-day.
 
I remember my kids when they were little, they seemed to get 'whipped up' into tricky behaviours when the wind was up. It used to be my least favourite kind of weather. I've always sworn off wind-surfing as it basically involves standing up with a sail in the wind, which seems like my idea of a bad day.
 
Then someone once said 'think of the wind as blowing away the cobwebs'. Try seeing wind as being refreshing instead of hiding away from it. Try embracing it, let it blow right through you, clear you out, blow away old moods and grievances, and then enjoy the post-storm calm as a fresh start. Things are swept clean and there is a sort of purity that remains.
 
This has helped me embrace windy and rainy weather. To enjoy it as a positive. Appreciate the sun when it's shining as the contrast is so stark.
 
I've lived in sunny places where the weather is pretty predictable for weeks and months on end. Wall-to-wall sunshine and warmth. It is lovely, but it also gets pretty samey. The variety we enjoy offers the chance to fully savour the good stuff more when it is here.
 
No matter what the weather is where you are, there is always an embrace to be found. The cliche that says 'the sun is always shining' is of course completely true - somewhere it is. And the practices of yoga help us reframe our relationship to clouds, which helps the sunshine stay in view.
 
In the Yoga Sutra, an ancient text that holds some of the earliest writings on yoga and a whole lot of wisdom, there is a verse that teaches the practice of 'cultivating opposite thoughts and emotions' (Chap II.34).
The turnaround.
Things that are bothering you or causing disatisfaction can be reframed. It's an idea the Stoics employed too. 
Why practice this? Then your day, and your life, can feel a whole lot better.
Try it :-)