Merely the Heat of the Moment

It had been a particularly sweltering day -- reminiscent of those fogged up glasses days in east Texas; the kind when clothing adheres to the skin, and even the tropical plants look lethargic.  Gathered for an early evening meeting, we were commiserating about the heat and maligning the oppressiveness of the weather.  Then Marilyn registered her dissent.  "I think we have wonderful weather."  Surprised, the rest of us cocked our heads to listen for the annotated argument.  What she went on to observe was that, sure, we have our difficult days -- but they don't last long. We have highs and lows and all measure of moderations in between.

I can't speak for the others in the room, but I appreciate her contrarian view.  Confessionally, I sort of think I began the negative commentary which focused exclusively on the moment.  I was miserable.  That was the length and width and breadth of my thinking.  But Marilyn opted for the longer view.  "Yes,"she was suggesting, "there is this moment; but it isn't the only one."  There are, in other words, other moments.  How did I so easily forget how exceptional it is that my glasses fog up, when once upon a time it was the norm?  I know there are those who prefer the constant moderation of southern California, but one of my affections for Iowa is its variant seasons -- a little bit of everything, in limited doses.  That's the longer view to which the heat of the moment had blinded me.

The moment -- and a concomitant inductive assessment of the whole on the experience of the singleness of it. We are no strangers to the shortcut.  The culinary adage is that a restaurant's reputation is only as good as its next meal.  Corporations are whip-sawed by their quarterly reports.  It's like driving focused only on traversing the space between the stripes on the road -- one, then another, then another.  Never mind the scenery along the way, or the crossing deer, or the migrating "V" of geese in the sky overhead, or the gentle hum of the engine -- or the intended destination. 

Which is not to deny the fact that there is a moment -- a "today" -- with the fullness of its relative comfort or perspiration.  It's just to remember, with Marilyn, that there is a bigger picture; a longer view.

Which will be helpful to keep in mind in those subzero days of February.