How the weather can change your life

Storm clouds cross the sky above a field of Rape, near Tauwhare in the Waikato. Photo / Sarah Ivey

The weather isn't just something that allows us to enjoy a day outdoors or dry our washing. It also shapes our memories and emotions in quite a significant way.

Whether it's a grey, overcast, day that makes us feel sad and not feel completely whole inside, or a grey, overcast, day that makes us snuggle up under a cosy blanket and watch movies on TV.

The weather can make a wedding day perfect or perfectly memorable. The weather can cost us money when a drought kills the grass or create memories of lovely, hot, lazy days as kids.

About 12 months ago the weather changed my life - for the positive. And while certainly bias about how much I love the weather, I am actually just like you - a lot about the weather can also bring me down. Like the Crowded House song, "Four Seasons in One Day", I think the weather also has a similar affect on the heart.

Sundays always bring me down - not the mornings, they're perfect - but after lunchtime I feel this melancholy downhill slide, no matter how sunny it is outside. After all, the sunnier the weather the bigger the shadows.

But 12 months ago the weather gave me something I desperately needed - a little nudge in a positive direction.

When we were kids the sun seemed brighter, the summers hotter and drier and winters more cosy. That's the amazing thing about the human brain - there's a thing called the hippocampus. It's a major part of the human brain and it helps with memories - importantly, new memories.

It's the part of the brain that tells us, "Hey, while winter last year was terrible this year was much warmer and nicer - why don't you remember this one instead of that yucky one last year?".

Obviously it's not just weather related, it helps create new memories with all the things in our lives. This is partially why we look back on events in our lives with fondness - our brain has learnt new, more positive, memories along the way.

So here I was a year ago, on a grey, overcast, Sunday afternoon. Eating junk food, feeling pretty down about things, working long hours, the ending of my marriage, I'd gained weight and wasn't eating or drinking at healthy levels. I remember lying on the couch watching some terrible television and looking outside and thinking, "What a bland, horrible, day".

Just before sunset, around 5pm, I went outside for the first time that day - just to get some fresh air. Even though inside I was cold, with the fire burning to warm me up, outside it was actually surprisingly mild. In Auckland the easterly wind was blowing and somehow that has a more summery feeling to it (even if it's cold).

I don't know what it was about that gloomy but mild Sunday afternoon / evening, but the little touch of warmth gave me energy. I decided to go for a short walk. The walk led me down to the waterfront and as I walked the grey sky slowly turned orange (the clouds reflecting the orange city streetlights). The
waterfront looked beautiful, and because it was cloudy with a slight breeze the evening felt much warmer than usual.

This little walk turned out to be a two and a half hour walk. On the way home I walked past people's homes. I saw little kids being fed dinner early, people barbecuing, men ironing their shirts before work the next day, and older couples watching television together.

I don't know what it was about the weather that evening but it gave me energy for the first time that year. I returned home at 7:30pm, pitch black outside. I remember sitting on my deck and looking up at the dark, cloudy, sky and feeling this sense of comfort - the weather that day had motivated me to get off my lazy butt and embrace life again.

A year later and not one single week hasn't gone by where I haven't been for a big run or exercised. I am still motivated by the weather. If it's cold and windy outside I'll got for a run tomorrow when it's not quite as bitter. If it's raining, better still I'll go for a run (rain drops can stimulate the body in the same way cascading water in a shower can, giving you extra energy). Other times I'll just sit and watch a stunning sunset, or perhaps if it's really wet and cold I'll curl up on the couch with the laptop and enjoy the warm comfort of my home.

No matter the weather it can be made into a positive.

I guess in my long winded attempt to write about 'feelings and emotions' (wow, heavy for a Monday huh), I just wanted to express how on that overcast, grey, Sunday afternoon I found something positive in the weather and it truly, literally, changed my life.

No matter how terrible things are in your life right now you can always turn to nature and feel humbled. See some beauty that you can grab with both hands and embrace.

Finally - for those who are feeling down about things at the moment - maybe it's a loss of job in this crappy economic environment, perhaps the loss of someone you love, or maybe you're just feeling lost and sad as I did 12 months ago - all I can say is find that sparkle in the weather that might make you feel good, even if only for a moment.

I am not a terribly religious man, I believe in a god - but I can't define 'him' for you. But weather, or Mother Nature, can be like a religion. You don't have to have facts to embrace the humbling feeling it can give you.

Trust me on this one. If you look for it, you will find that cloud with the silver lining. If not today, try tomorrow - or maybe next Sunday afternoon.

Philip Duncan

Pictured above: Storm clouds cross the sky above a field of Rape, near Tauwhare in the Waikato. Photo / Sarah Ivey