Sow’s Ear Into a Silk Purse By Dr. Juan Harrison
Sow’s Ear Into a Silk Purse
We’ve talked a lot over the years about it isn’t so much about what happens to us in life but how we react to it. Our recent multiple day stretch of snow and ice with freezing temperatures forced our daily life to a screeching halt here in the South and Southwest. Unlike where I lived in Upper Michigan with 100-200 inches of snow each winter, our warmer climate doesn’t usually experience weather like this but every few years. Most of our little towns can’t afford to keep equipment and supplies only used once or twice a decade.
So what do we do in an ice storm in East Texas. We hunker down and let the sun thaw things out. We try to avoid broken hips and dented fenders. We learn patience. We prepare with extra groceries and check our propane tanks. This too shall pass. As I sat in the computer room feeling the sun coming through the blinds facing south, I felt warm inside and out.
Outside and inside the quiet is almost overwhelming. It almost feels and sounds eerie. Television soon becomes boring. You glance at your phone for the fiftieth time and finally put it aside. You find yourself decompressing as most activities in the area come to a screeching halt. No mail for a second day. No trash pickup today. You’ve got enough bread, milk, pinto beans, cornbread mix, and some mac and cheese to get you through, unlike in the UP on the Canadian border where snowplows cleared the streets daily for us to get to the grocery store if needed.
The amazing thing about mankind is our ability to adapt to our circumstances. When I lived overseas, I skied mountains in Europe and rode camels in Egypt. I kept snowshoes handy for the next blizzard in case I had to make a quick trip to the local grocery before the snowplows came by.
The weather and local climate can be lemons ready to turn into lemonade. It’s all in our outlook. In Texas we just turn up the AC. In Marquette on Lake Superior, we couldn’t swim in the cold water, so we just went down to the hot pond where warmer water was coming out of power generators.
Sometimes we can use some peace and quiet accompanying a cold spell, throwing a monkey wrench into our normal routines. The challenge is to see it as a blessing to make us grateful for what we’ve taken for granted and to adapt once more to changing circumstances and turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
