Scottish Weather... take it

by Bruce Cook

Back in the early 90’s I found myself on a warm summer’s evening at RFK Stadium in Washington DC taking in the wonder of U2’s Zoo TV tour. Amidst the spectacle of electronic sensory overload, the steady drizzle that had been falling for half an hour or so prompted Bono to look to the sky through his trademark wrap-around shades and say something along the lines of “If I didn’t know better, you’d think we were in Dublin...”

Magic. Never had the pouring rain felt so glorious.

Several years later, in November of 1999, I travelled to Scotland for the first time to visit my new ‘friend’… who is now my wife. (Result :-))

Anyway, it was a bit chilly, very grey, and mostly drizzly for my entire visit. No problem. Love was in the air and the world seemed right. The hills were lush and green and I didn’t see how anyone could view the constant rain as anything other than ‘charming’.

Well, I soon moved to Scotland, married Rhona, and now the Scottish weather doesn’t seem quite so charming.

The winter months are very long. In December the daylight only lasts for 6 or 7 hours, the temperature oscillates between chilly and frigid, the clouds hang low and heavy and the perpetual rain often pelts your face at a 45-degree angle. As you can imagine, it’s easy get fed up. Vitamin D supplements are a must.

This leads some to drink, and most to book a flight to the sun. In Scotland there is almost never a night when you can go to sleep knowing that in the morning you can just wake up and put on a pair of shorts. So, why do we live here!?!?!

I’ve thought about that several times over my 20+ years living in Scotland. Wouldn’t it be great to live in Florida? Well, not during hurricane season, but the sun would be lovely. Or maybe California for the sea, but not near the fault line… or the fire zones.

Hmmm… maybe I’ve been looking at the Scottish weather through a window that gives a skewed perspective. Maybe I need to step to the side where I can look through another window that offers a different view.

There. Yes, I like this view better. From here I can see that there are no hurricanes, or even the threat of one. There are no droughts, and the grass is green year-round. There are no forrest fires, no tornadoes, no deadly heat-waves, and we only get a real snow-storm every 5 or 10 years. Hell, even with the persistent rain, there is so little flat land that there is almost no significant flooding.

And the population density in Scotland is relatively low, so pollution is low and the air is clear and fresh. At roughly 56 degrees north latitude, Scotland’s UV index is also very low - which means a reduced risk of skin cancer. I like this window. The Scottish weather looks pretty damn good from here!

And that’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it? Sure, we can always find something to complain about… especially if that’s what we’re looking for, but there’s always another window. Another way of looking at it.

I think Crowded House nailed it when they sang “Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you.” A simple line from 1992 and an overly simple and obvious concept that is easy to scoff at for its Pollyanna perspective, but it’s a bit trickier than that.

While I like Pollyanna’s ‘game’ which instantly finds the positive in every situation, I can also see how today’s Pollyanna types can be annoying to those who face real-world difficulties.

What I’m suggesting here isn’t 100% instant (and often false) positivity. I’m talking about those long-standing perturbances in life that won’t seem to go away. Like the Scottish weather, they’re always there and they always seem to knock you down a peg, deflate you, steal your energy and wastefully occupy your mind. These are the situations for which it is worth doing the hard work that it takes to find that window with a different view - a new perspective.

For these tougher situations - these really sucky views where the weather really seems to suck - you may have to stoop down into an uncomfortable position… or get way up on your tip-toes… or strain your neck awkwardly to the side… or go find a stool or a chair to stand on, but it’s worth it. Sometimes you may even have to grab a sledge hammer and bash a new hole in the wall to find the more pleasant view.

There’s no way to avoid it. It WILL be hard work. But when you finally find that new window, or hole in the wall, the view is not only pleasant and refreshing, it can be exhilarating - like a hit of pure oxygen to a deliriously exhausted athlete. An emotional (and even physical) epiphany of sorts. A new state of being that is well worth the effort.

Simply put, too often we accept the sucky view, and the sucky feeling it gives us. With all the angst and rage in the world today, I have to ask myself... why? I guess an occasional rant makes the ‘ranter’ feel a bit better just to get it out, but perpetual anger, frustration or condemnation doesn’t ever transform into a warm fuzzy, so why hold onto it?

Yes, some situations and people are truly horrible, but I mean come on. Come over here, do the work, look out this window. The clouds are low and thick. The rain is pissing down and the wind is howling. Ahhhhh Scotland. It’s lovely… from my view.

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