At last month’s “Author Readings” in Ilwaco, I met Coral Hughes, a born-again Peninsulan, who read a fun piece about the weather here on the southwest Washington coast. I liked it so much I decided to give her my space today.
Reprinted with permission, Coral writes:
I had spent days entertaining my guests from Florida and Arizona, showing them the Peninsula’s beauty and sharing with them the qualities that make our life wonderful here.
But they asked annoyingly, “Where’s the sunshine?”
Kidding or not, I retorted, “Sunshine is NOT the criteria for a quality life!” (Under my breath, I thought: “How shallow is that?!”)
Even though their attitude about our weather irritated me, I do understand it, because I was once in their shoes. I grew up in the Northwest, when my goal was to “move to the sunshine.” Naively, I thought that sunshine could make for happiness. So when I graduated from college, I moved to Arizona. For nearly nine years I lived there, and of course, took the sun for granted. But while there, I learned that we human beings find and make our problems wherever we are. In fact, the sunshine can actually make us feel worse if you are NOT happy and think you SHOULD be, because it is sunny! It was a lesson I will always remember.
My quality of life on the Peninsula now is measured in terms of relationships.I’m here because of the people here: the friendly, caring, generous, accepting people here.
I’m also here because I’ve found a “sense of place”….a belonging…that is far more profound and purposeful than what’s happening in the sky.
I’ve learned to “rein in” my priorities….life’s too precious to focus on grey clouds…
Sunshine has to be a quality in our hearts…or we will take the clouds wherever we go.
What (or Who) reigns in your heart?!