On complaining about the weather
As humans, we love to complain about things all the time. Sometimes about things that are within our control, but more often, about things that are completely beyond our reach. Things like the weather.
It would be obvious to point out that such complaints are useless. After all, we do not control the weather. What do we hope to get out of complaining about something like this?
The most obvious answer would be self-satisfaction. We may be displeased about the weather, and venting our feelings about it is a way to relieve this pain and stress that we involuntarily feel about the weather. And so you might say, this is all well and good because complaining has an obvious benefit: it makes us feel better.
Or does it?
Though we may get a temporary, momentary pleasure in indulging in our misery, it does not address the root cause of the problem. Something we humans are really good at doing is applying temporary short-term solutions to problems that make us feel good immediately without actually solving the issue. This, of course is one of them.
In addition to this, we often have the deep-seated notion that if we feel miserable about the weather, that this is something that is also beyond our reach. Our feelings are also like the weather, uncontrollable, and raging about all on its own. Furthermore, we cannot help but notice them and let them consume our mind and control our actions.
These ideas are often reinforced in things we are told. That it is to be human to feel feelings, that it is healthy to pay heed to your feelings and let them loose, and that in a sense, this is a way of loving yourself and to be yourself.
All these things, though, are only true to the extent that we actually believe them. They seem obvious like obvious truths in our culture and society. Are they actually true though?
First of all, it is indeed true that any normal human will feel feelings. It is part of our evolutionary design. The second part though, that it is healthy to pay heed to your feelings and let them loose, however, it something that deserves attention and scrutiny.
Feelings may be part of our evolutionary design and therefore a part of human nature, but to conclude from this that it is therefore healthy to let them loose relies on a hidden assumption. The assumption here is that human nature is fundamentally good and to be treasured. More will be written about this later, it is important to realize that just because the idea of human nature sounds good and feels good, that this alone does not mean that human nature really is good in the end.
In the first place, what is good? Again, this is beyond the scope of this blog post, but more on this will also be written.
For now, it would be simple to note that while it is human nature to feel and act on feelings, that this is also the nature of wild beasts. What separates humanity from all other species is not feelings, but rather the ability to think rationally and make decisions before acting on any feelings in the first place. The freedom to decide for yourself what you actually want to do rather than simply act on instincts like all the other animals.
If you decide for yourself to feel miserable about the weather and just let it be like that, this is indeed a part of your human nature and who you are. But if you decide for yourself instead that you do not care about the weather regardless of how you feel and that there are more important considerations for you to care about, this is also a part of human nature and who you are.
The freedom to think for yourself and decide what you actually want to do and how you want to think about and regard things rather than merely be controlled by mere instinct is arguably a larger part of what makes us human. It is what separates us from the beasts.
Now, keeping this in mind, perhaps you can examine more thoroughly what it is that makes you feel this way or that about the weather. Indeed, feelings about things usually come about not simply because of instinct, but also because as a result of ways we think about things, and very often our preconceptions about things. We feel miserable about something not simply because something inconveniences us, but more often than not simply because we think of it as miserable. Or, because other people think of it as miserable, so you would naturally think that it is normal to feel miserable about something.
This, of course, also applies to the weather. A little rain may get you wet, and a little chilliness may make you feel cold, but what inconvenience does any of this truly cause you? After all is said and done, you will end up carrying about your day almost the same as any other.
At the end of the day, whether you feel miserable or not about the weather on a rainy day is very likely your choice. And does feeling miserable about the weather truly do you any good?
Perhaps it is about time to reexamine your preconceptions about how think you should or need to feel about the weather.
It would be obvious to point out that such complaints are useless. After all, we do not control the weather. What do we hope to get out of complaining about something like this?
The most obvious answer would be self-satisfaction. We may be displeased about the weather, and venting our feelings about it is a way to relieve this pain and stress that we involuntarily feel about the weather. And so you might say, this is all well and good because complaining has an obvious benefit: it makes us feel better.
Or does it?
Though we may get a temporary, momentary pleasure in indulging in our misery, it does not address the root cause of the problem. Something we humans are really good at doing is applying temporary short-term solutions to problems that make us feel good immediately without actually solving the issue. This, of course is one of them.
In addition to this, we often have the deep-seated notion that if we feel miserable about the weather, that this is something that is also beyond our reach. Our feelings are also like the weather, uncontrollable, and raging about all on its own. Furthermore, we cannot help but notice them and let them consume our mind and control our actions.
These ideas are often reinforced in things we are told. That it is to be human to feel feelings, that it is healthy to pay heed to your feelings and let them loose, and that in a sense, this is a way of loving yourself and to be yourself.
All these things, though, are only true to the extent that we actually believe them. They seem obvious like obvious truths in our culture and society. Are they actually true though?
First of all, it is indeed true that any normal human will feel feelings. It is part of our evolutionary design. The second part though, that it is healthy to pay heed to your feelings and let them loose, however, it something that deserves attention and scrutiny.
Feelings may be part of our evolutionary design and therefore a part of human nature, but to conclude from this that it is therefore healthy to let them loose relies on a hidden assumption. The assumption here is that human nature is fundamentally good and to be treasured. More will be written about this later, it is important to realize that just because the idea of human nature sounds good and feels good, that this alone does not mean that human nature really is good in the end.
In the first place, what is good? Again, this is beyond the scope of this blog post, but more on this will also be written.
For now, it would be simple to note that while it is human nature to feel and act on feelings, that this is also the nature of wild beasts. What separates humanity from all other species is not feelings, but rather the ability to think rationally and make decisions before acting on any feelings in the first place. The freedom to decide for yourself what you actually want to do rather than simply act on instincts like all the other animals.
If you decide for yourself to feel miserable about the weather and just let it be like that, this is indeed a part of your human nature and who you are. But if you decide for yourself instead that you do not care about the weather regardless of how you feel and that there are more important considerations for you to care about, this is also a part of human nature and who you are.
The freedom to think for yourself and decide what you actually want to do and how you want to think about and regard things rather than merely be controlled by mere instinct is arguably a larger part of what makes us human. It is what separates us from the beasts.
Now, keeping this in mind, perhaps you can examine more thoroughly what it is that makes you feel this way or that about the weather. Indeed, feelings about things usually come about not simply because of instinct, but also because as a result of ways we think about things, and very often our preconceptions about things. We feel miserable about something not simply because something inconveniences us, but more often than not simply because we think of it as miserable. Or, because other people think of it as miserable, so you would naturally think that it is normal to feel miserable about something.
This, of course, also applies to the weather. A little rain may get you wet, and a little chilliness may make you feel cold, but what inconvenience does any of this truly cause you? After all is said and done, you will end up carrying about your day almost the same as any other.
At the end of the day, whether you feel miserable or not about the weather on a rainy day is very likely your choice. And does feeling miserable about the weather truly do you any good?
Perhaps it is about time to reexamine your preconceptions about how think you should or need to feel about the weather.
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