Hey….ya know what? It’s January 7th. That means a lot of us are going to get more snow before winter comes to an end. Those that don’t get the snow will get it in rain. The biggest difference in the two….you have to wait for the snow to melt before it actually gets to work.
Some of the rain and eventually the melted snow will move across the ground and find its way to a run off….then to a creek….then to a stream….then to a river. Along that path those little drops will accumulate and strengthen…the force of the water will move particles of earthen refuse, slowly change the form of the tributary that it travels along and even change the shape of the rocks it glides across on its way. It will find its way to a pond, a lake or maybe even the ocean. Those flakes of snow and drops of rain will provide a livable environment for creatures smaller than tadpoles all the way to creatures the size of sperm whales. Eventually that water will be heated up, vaporized into a gas, lifted into the atmosphere and it will start the cycle all over again.
BUT…..some of that rain and snow will soak into the earth. It will be used to transport the nutrients to the vegetation that covers this planet. A few short months from now you’ll see vegetable gardens, hay fields and corn rows flourishing where snow was piled high….the trees will awaken and start to turn green again….and the grass will need cut twice a week lest it get out of control. Thanks to all that greenery, photosynthesis will make sure that carbon dioxide is being filtered from the air we breathe while systematically replacing it with the oxygen that we need. All those drops of rain and flakes of snow will help ensure some of the trees produce the most succulent fruits, while others produce nuts or sap that can be boiled down to syrups. As well, those drops and flakes will ensure the thickets are filled with berries and honeysuckle, and later this year they’ll supply the forest with a bounty of acorns….all provided in order to prepare the woodland creatures for the coming winter.
Those drops of rain and flakes of snow produce the waters and slaloms in which we swim and ski. They’ll make sure our boats don’t bottom out while we’re fishing. They’ll ensure we can bathe everything from ourselves to our cars. They’ll ensure we have the essentials of life….food, drinking water and oxygen.
Now….I didn’t sit here and write all of this to try to give anyone a lesson in natural science. I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell anyone a damn thing that they didn’t already know. I wrote all that to remind you how something so tiny can play such a huge role in our lives. As small and seemingly insignificant as they seem to be…without those drops and flakes, life on earth will perish. Survival and perpetuation of the species is the key to our continued existence…..take those drops and flakes out of the equation, and we just simply cease to exist.
Inversely proportional to that idea stands the fact that what may seem to be something so large in our lives is, in fact…truly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Situations and circumstances that may seem to be life altering…well, in truth they’re often just inconvenient obstacles to be overcome. At times, I think a lot of us have lost our perspective in the ways in which we assign value to the things in our lives.
A smarter man would know how to be more eloquent in bringing this point to light…but, seeing how a smarter man isn’t sitting at this keyboard, I’m just going to cut to the chase.
BREATHE, people. Just…RELAX.
All the turmoil in the political arena…all the protests and riots….all the suggested uncertainty in regards to the future of our way of life….all the media and social media fodder….ALL that undue drama….at the end of the day, all that bullshit has less impact on your life than a single drop of rain or a single flake of snow. Politicians don’t grow your veggies or the fields that feed the livestock on which we subsist. The people of social media don’t keep your boat afloat or slide you down the slopes. Not one single newscaster or television personality will EVER produce oxygen for you.
Just breathe, guys. Close your eyes, tip your head back a little bit and inhale. Enjoy the rush of the air filling your lungs…..and next time it rains or snows…..give a wink and nod of understanding to the drops and flakes….they’re more important to your existence than anything anyone’s got their britches in a bunch about right now.
Never forget….it’s the little things in life that make it worth living.