According to Anne Shirley, we “awake every morning to a brand new day with no mistakes it it.” Yes, there are days when Mother Nature reminds us that she cannot be tamed and we exercise no more control of the weather than a wailing toddler who has soiled their diaper.  However, just as the refrains of the howling infant are soon relieved by the tenderness of their parent, the calm always follow the storm. In its wake, there is a patchwork of white penetrated by streets with dotted paths, towering evergreens and naked maple and oak trees waiting patiently for their time to bloom. The rage of the storm has passed, and with luck, the blanket is thick enough to build forts and create figures in the snow. 

And toboganning! Who doesn’t embrace the thrill of careening down the hill and crashing into the bank at the bottom? The disappointment at the interruption of the storm vanishes as quickly as the breath from rhose celebrating nature’s gift and the goodness of life.   All that you require is something large enough to sit on that isn’t too thick or heavy and let gravity do the rest. It’s magical. A dinner tray was often the sled of choice during university days. 

Life Can be Difficult

Life can be very similar. There are events that occasionally cause a disturbance and may seem threatening at first. No one ever said, “life is easy”. And, one of my responses to my children as they grew was some version of, “Whatever gave you the idea that life is fair?” It isn’t. It doesn’t matter who you are, how much money you have, or any other privilege you may be fortunate to enjoy. We are all just human beings with our own limitations, feelings and insecurities. The last I checked, Elon Musk puts his pants on one leg at a time and has to wipe his ass after a shit. We can live healthy lives and do many of the right things, yet one of our loved ones or ourselves may still be the victim of the one dreaded word: cancer. 

How Should we then live? 

We have no more control over random events than the weather. So, how should we then live? Well, some people choose to live as if life is a hurricane wrecking havoc and bent on destroying their lives, even on a cloudless day when there is no wind. Anything and anyone outside of what has been normal to them is suspect and potentially dangerous. Regardless of their present circumstances, there are always problems they perceive elsewhere that need to be fixed so that the world conforms to their vision of the way things should be. And, they have friends somewhere, if only on Facebook, who share their judgment of how the world, THEIR world, is going to hell in a handbasket. 

Yet, the vast majority of these people are under no threat by what they rail against. They usually have a family and loved ones, who may or may not share, appreciate or understand their negative view. They can walk down the streets and enjoy the blanket of snow or go to the beach in the summer. They can watch a game, go to the movies or sing in the shower. They have the ability to work and pay for their “needs”, and some or most of their “wants”. They even have the freedom to vocalize how discontent they are with how things should be, despite the fact they have had and continue to do whatever they like every day. 

Yes, everyone encounters difficulties and hardships in some way through their lifetime. There are challenges but, most of us, especially in the developed world, are free to live our lives every day with our loved ones in our communities as we wish. Every day is new and starts with no mistakes in it. There is so much we can’t control, but most of it is irrelevant to our freedom and personal ability to enjoy our lives with our loved ones in our communities. We can explore our horizons and try new things. 

We can enjoy life because life is definitely good.