Tale (Of Woe)

I live in Phoenix, Arizona. And as the Brits might say, “It’s bloody hot here.”

107 F (41 C).This is on a “good” day. From May through September sometimes spilling into October, the 100’s are the norm. When family from France was here a few weeks ago, they were treated to 118. But it was a dry heat.

Dry heat is great for cooking. You can probably cook an egg or maybe even a chicken out on the sidewalk in the middle of the day. And I know you can cook a human or an animal in a parked car.

I spend the summer sequestered in air conditioned environments. From one air conditioned environment, I move to my air conditioned car to get to the next one.  In the evening, the pool is sweet relief. The water is warm but still refreshing.  When I get out, the dry air wicks the water off my wet body and creates a cooling effect.

I’ve lived  here for 44 years so the heat is not news to me. Yet this year I’ve been experiencing it a bit differently.

I have more of a negative attitude about the summer heat this time around.  I find myself thinking grumbling thoughts  about how hot it is and how it keeps me from doing some of what I want to do (hiking, walks with the dog at any time of day, etc.)  It would be nice to live someplace cooler. Maybe? Rainier maybe? It was much nicer on our recent trip to Steamboat and Denver Colorado. And how I really really don’t like the “brutal” heat. Wah Wah Wah. And Wah Wah. And Wah.

It’s been interesting. I don’t hear the same lamentations from my husband.  His response is more “it is what it is and it’s not stopping me from doing things. I just change my schedule.” So what if he falls asleep on the weekend at his computer because he was out hiking at 6 AM before the temp slipped into the 100’s.

I love the power of noticing. It’s a no effort involved way of creating a shift in pretty much whatever I decide to shine my light on.

Here are some noticings…..

My whiny “I hate the heat ” state of discontent ebbs and flows. It’s interesting to note how my misery level rises and falls throughout the day on a moment to moment basis.  Fortunately the soundtrack doesn’t play continuously. Therefore,  I am content more than I am not.

Sometimes I share the grumbles and sometimes I keep them to myself.  Negative thinking=negative attitude=negative experience. Let’s get negative and cranky together. Oh boy, commiserating with another can be fun right?  Something we can agree on.

In keeping the grumbles inside, the thoughts  pass through on their own, often fairly quickly, no trying or effort involved. There is just less energy, less fuel, to keep the fire going.

I love that I can see that my experience of our weather is created as a result of thought and not as a result of what’s outside of me… in this case, high temperatures.

I don’t have to work at a positive attitude i.e. manage my thinking (I love the heat, I love the heat, I love the heat, that’s crap, I love the heat) to have a new experience. I can have a new experience when a new thought comes along. No extra effort required. This often happens when my cranky thoughts don’t look compelling anymore.

I don’t even have to look on the bright side and focus on the things I love about summer… swimming in our pool, summer fruit, less illness, longer days… all of that. Those thoughts show up randomly and ebb and flow too. I can enjoy them without needing them as a strategy to change my attitude.

Once again, I see my experience as coming from the inside out. From inside me not from the outside weather. There is so much freedom and power here.

My tale of woe is a fictional one. Made up. By thought.

Yup, it’s bloody hot here. No denying that fact. But that’s where the facts end.

The rest is all tale.