Weathering the storms

So I had to take this defensive driving class today (don't ask!) and in the class our instructor said that joke we've all heard before, "Well, if you don't like the weather in Colorado, just wait five minutes!" She paused after that - perhaps expecting the class of people who were forced to be there to laugh, giggle, or shout out an "Amen!" Alas, none of us did.

This got me thinking...pretty much every town/state I've lived in, people from that place said that at one time or another. And I can tell you that in each of these circumstances, never did the weather actually change notably in the subsequent five minutes.

So...is it that all places have weather that changes quickly or that some random person thought up that clever saying and someone visiting that town stole the phrase? Then they brought it to their town, said it, and then someone else stole the phrase?

Come to think of it, when I lived in El Paso, no one said that the weather changed...that's because it's hot pretty much all the time.

So maybe we should all stop saying that phrase as it applies to almost everywhere. Then the poeple in El Paso, Phoenix, and Antartica can say things like, "Well, if you don't like the weather here, move...because it's not like it's going to change anytime soon!"

One of my favorite quotes

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deeest fear is that we are are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shirinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own Light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

--Nelson Mandela