Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

It is not uncommon that I am surprised by the weather. Whether it is a giant snow storm named after an animated fish, or a “heat wave” in January, or just an afternoon rain storm: I am often in the dark.

I don’t recall what specific weather recently alerted me to this pattern in my life, but when I did take notice, I realized it was a quite frequent occurrence.

What does this say about me? Why do I not care to know what weather is coming our way?

Sometimes I do, of course. You’ll recall that we have an ice rink in our back yard, so leading up to that I am frequently looking ahead for below-freezing temperatures. AND, sometimes in the summertime I will check ahead to see if there’s any relief on the way (heat and I do not enjoy each other’s company…)

But in general, things like the snow dump named Nemo (that is still coming down as I type this) often come as a pleasant surprise to me.

What I think is, this matches my personality—or perhaps, a learned pattern of behavior?—in other areas as well.

I do not wear a watch. I do not really own a cell phone. If I am late, it’s often because I am engaged with someone else (or for someone else) prior to the appointment to which I have now become late.

There is at the core of my being, a desire to be here and now. Not in the next place, or in a previous place… now.

I don’t think that checking the weather for next week means you’re not living in the now, but my habit of not thinking about checking, or forgetting to… is consistent with a life philosophy of being where I’m at.

Various things in life keep reminding me that we are finite beings. We are located to a time and place. We are here. We are now. We are capable of thinking of the future and the past, but sometimes that makes us less. Not always, of course, but sometimes. Usually it’s when the not-here is clouded by some fear. Worry about the future, or regret/shame/guilt from the past.

Thinking ahead can also be dreaming, though. Dreaming is good. It spurs us on, forward. And memories of the past can warm our hearts and encourage us in the now, as well. I love history! It’s wonderful to remember the good things that have been, even “reliving” them again in our hearts and minds.

Yet I think we are made for the now. Right there where you are. Right now. There must be something in our nature that is uncomfortable with that, no? We are so easily distracted by what is coming next (and sometimes by what we’ve been through).

But, oh, to be surprised by the now! That’s the joy of not checking the weather, or the clock, or the phone. It’s here, where you are, who you’re with. That is the richest experience we can have, I believe.

So, I do sometimes check the weather widget on my Mac OS X Dashboard. (Sometimes I’ll learn of a coming storm through friends who do check the weather on Facebook, and post some pithy comments about the impending… fun.) But I’m glad to still be surprised by what comes next in life. And I don’t think that will change.

I mean, who doesn’t love surprises? 🙂