Does Whining about the Weather Help?

Photography by William Walther
WjW Photography

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
 
We have had a beautiful May in Tucson.  It is the first year that I recall where we haven’t hit triple digits.  That is about to change and we aren’t just going to temperatures of 100 degrees, but probably over 110 degrees and the grousing has started. But, does it help or hurt to complain about the weather?
 
I have been reading a great book by Janice Kaplan called “The Gratitude Diaries” where she takes a year to express gratitude and it transformed her life. Janice lives in New York and she has a section where she talks about the brutally cold weather and snow in her hometown.  One day she shares she was exhausted after all of the griping about the weather she had heard on he way to work.  Whining about the weather has absolutely no effect on the weather, but it does have an effect on the energy of your conversations and mood.  Janice states, “Announce too often that you’re miserable, and you begin to believe you really are.” 
 
I understand that I have no magical powers, although I do wish I could fly.  I cannot wave a wand and change the weather, but I can change my thoughts and words about the weather.  I can be grateful to live in a place with blue skies and sunshine and appreciate that I am fortunate to have air conditioning in my house and that all of the places I go have air conditioning.  Plus, it's a dry heat.  Pay attention to how often people complain about the weather, and see if you can change the negative attitude with your positive comment.

The weather provides the perfect opportunity for you to practice letting go of things you can't control.  And by the way, you cannot control anything but your thoughts, words, and actions.  So practice acceptance with the easy stuff like weather - it is what it is.
 
Do you complain about the weather?  Does the venting help or hurt your mood?
 
What can you do to transform your approach to things you cannot change like the weather?