For some, rain is a direct association to its common theme of gloom and sadness, but a lot of people are immediately happier and can completely alter their mood for the rest of the day. Does rain outside in the morning motivate, excite, and please you all at the same time? If it does, you are a lot like me. I wanted to go further into the reasons behind this difference and see how the mind has been discovered alongside the world’s fickle weather patterns. In an article by Sarah Knapton for Telegraph UK, the work of Professor Paul Dolan from the London School of Economics is summarized and analyzed. The Professor of Behavioral Science believes weather to have no true and substantial effect on mood, but when we think about the weather and its implications, we can become “miserable”
This separation of conscience and emotion is fascinating to me, as the entire concept and role of weather is getting in our heads, and making us think what we don’t need to think. Dolan details this opinion by underlining an experiment done with subjects in California and the North West. The differences in levels of happiness were nonexistent, revealing the previously mentioned issue of dwelling mentally on the weather. This article and Dolan relate this idea to human life in everyday settings. Dolan himself states that “most of our anxieties come from what might be,” and “things are never as bad as you imagine them being” (Source 1). I enjoyed this approach and its comforting but honest wording, all at once showing how weather patterns concern us more when hypothetical instead of real.In my opinion, there are too many variables at play. People all over the world are of course going to have different opinions on different kinds of weather. What about people who constantly live in rain? Most would probably enjoy seeing a sunny day, while some might prefer what they are used to. It is really hard to iron out all of these separating variables and influences. But I think one standard can be highlighted: no matter where you are, you have weather. In places with very consistent climates, there are people who would enjoy rainy days. In general, rain can be connected to one’s memory, mood and behavior with its presence and reputation. It is something that affects your world completely when it’s happening, and when emotions of the human mind are subjected to it nothing can be predicted. I think we should be grateful that such a powerful force of nature is not more commonly destructive. At the end of the day, humans enjoy what distract them. While weather can often get in our way, it helps us to remember the importance of shelter and take our minds off of stressful situations. Water is something that will forever be connected to human beings in ways we can never fully understand.
