Dear LPG

Have you ever found yourself at a bus stop with only one other person waiting, where you both smile at each other and then...?  Or perhaps you’re in a long shopping queue when you catch the eye of the person behind you and a word or two seems to be the next thing needed; but which one?  Or you are at a party that you went to alone.  The host greets you, introduces you to a perfect stranger and then leaves the two of you to it… Whenever you find yourself face to face with someone you have never talked to before, and words seem to be the next step, but you have no idea what to say, it is internationally accepted that we British will turn to the subject of the weather. 

When I was young, it was accepted that the temperature or probability of imminent precipitation would be alluded to in some way when opening a conversation with a stranger, and nothing has changed there.  It is one of those elements that have the same effect on each of us, but that can also have a different result on every person who feels its effects.

I did use the phrase ‘nothing has changed’, but it so has! The world is talking about whether these days, but for all the most really worrying reasons and, when we think of the way it is all headed, what the sun is up to on the day or when the latest named storm will hit, can feel like the approach of the tip of an iceberg that is melting with you on top. 

Usually, our initial conversations never get that heavy or profound, but when it gets dark early in the evenings, and we find ourselves home earlier with only the television for company, I must admit that some of those thoughts come into my mind.  It is so easy to get into that state of feeling as if the only way is down, especially when there are not so many people to talk to, which can often be the case as we get older.  

The most positive way to look forward is to pick and work on it.  After all, we are just one small cog in our world's gigantic wheel, so aiming to take on one small task at a time to make a slight difference might be the way forward.   

I don't know how a bit of writing which started with the weather ended up being so negative, but, as they say, the only way is up. I found this internet inspiration, which might motivate me to adopt positive thinking.   

OC, Lee

OC shares one aspect of potential encouragement…

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