Life is a Package Deal

I recently overheard a conversation between two women about the weather that set my mind into overdrive.

It was a beautiful 75-degree spring day here in Washington, DC. Colorful flowers blooming everywhere, trees dressed in their finest greenery once again, and glorious pink cherry blossoms everywhere.

If there is a heaven and I get there, this is what I hope it looks like.

Now here’s the conversation:

Woman #1: Oh, this weather is wonderful. I just love it!

Woman #2: I prefer winter, except for the snow.

Woman #1:

Other than being a bit of a wet rag (April showers?), Woman #2 is, of course, entitled to her opinions, including seasonal ones. But that’s not what gave me my moment of pause.  

Rather, I was struck by her apparent rigidity. It’s OK to prefer cold weather, but that’s not what’s happening now. Why not enjoy now? And now is spring.

Furthermore, she prefers winter but NOT all of winter, i.e., snow. Her seasonal enjoyment is very narrow. There’s a lot of year beyond those winter days without snow.

What Woman #2 was resisting is that life is a package deal.

Seasons come and go, year after year. And they are basically the same, year after year.

Resistance is futile. (OMG I’m quoting from Star Trek.)

Like seasons, there are givens built into the human experience. Joy and sorrow, good health and illness, and laughter and tears are all part of life. We can’t cherry (tree) pick only the parts we want.

So, relish your favorite season, literally and metaphorically, when it comes around. Soak it all in.

And when that season passes, find joy in what you can, knowing favorites come around again.

It’s all one big package deal.