For the past week I have been under the weather. While that was not how I would choose to spend my time, I did have time to give some thought to this phrase. I wonder how feeling ill became known as being under the weather? Could it be that the folks who came up with this euphemism lived in a climate of stormy day, gray days? I’m not sure but it occurs to me that we are always “under the weather”; it happens above us.
For the most part I enjoy being out-of-doors in all types of weather. But I do see how sunny skies lighten my mood. In fact, I have discovered that I am often in tune with the weather. This notion of being in tune with the weather had me contemplating my Native American teachings of the connectedness of the web of life. The concept of this teaching is that everything is on the web of life and is intrinsically interconnected. What affects one aspect of the web pulls on other threads and ultimately has bearing on the whole.
Instead of me being in tune with the weather or reacting to it, what if my moods actually impacted the weather? It might be a reach but if the interconnected web of life is accurate then everything I do, say and think does influence the whole. I hope to keep this in mind as I move through my days under the weather.
