The coldest winter was a summer... Really?

I recalled last night a quote attributed to Mark Twain... "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." He probably didn't say it; some guy living off Lombard Street walking from work most likely said it as he was brushing off the cold on a windy July afternoon headed home to light a fire to break the chill!

The sea fog that can be experienced there in the bay area can turn a sweltering 90 degrees in Oakland to a bone chilling 65 degrees and windy just by crossing one of those long bridges. It also renders a landscape that can be wonderfully panoramic to densely opaque no sooner than you can drive from Nob Hill to Telegraph Hill.

At dinner last night I was thinking how we adapt to such changing conditions.  Leaving Atlanta very early in typical summer clothes, even early in the morning, did not prepare me for the driving winds and biting cold! I knew the temperature was moderate compared to home... but still! Growing up in the south in the middle of July, its still hard to wrap your head around a cold and blustery 58 degrees! Even having traveled there before, I was not prepared for the change in conditions of my circumstance.

We see it all the time; our day starts strong but ends poorly. A friendship built over time is laid to waste over differences or indifference. A love shared becomes a love divided.  And, you would think we never saw it all coming.  We know "nothing stays the same" or "the only constant is change" but we just dont think it will happen to us until it does.  Then, as,the temperature of reason and reconciliation drop and the fog of anger and pride move in, we find ourselves lost and wandering in the cold... wondering where to go and what to do.

I've read that, "if its possible, as much as you/I can,  live at peace with all men." That is a significant challenge in our day and hour.

Our best response is to carefully & caringly  assess the condition of our circumstance, mutually agree to a reasonable plan to move on, and collectively shoulder the wind and cold to find a favorable environment with acceptable conditions. Its the way we work (or should) through life's problems every day!  

I think that's how to accomplish such a wonderfully bold task!