My favorite sweater is a creamy cable knit. She is just right for pulling on when the weather is betwixt and between. Then when the sun makes up its mind to linger I can pull my arms out of the sleeves and lay her aside. She waits quietly for the next chilly morning when I need an extra layer.
Years ago my daughter's coat zipper got stuck. I tugged at it with some force, but there was no way the teeth were letting go. They reminded me of a Doberman. In frustration I yanked the whole coat over her head, wondering if John would be able to solve it later. If all else failed I could seam rip the zipper tape and replace it. I forget now which way the scenario resolved.
It is to our benefit to be able to wear clothes as the circumstances arise and retreat.
A friend mentioned that a worry showed up. The pump in his pond was misbehaving and he wondered about it. But even in the small step of observing the worry as separate from himself, he was less entangled. He had a concern, but the concern did not have him. He could lay it aside, remembering where it was should he choose to put it back on.
Animals have winter coats too, but they stay on for an entire season. There are not the fickle furry adjustments to temperature, even in places where it can swivel wildly in a single day. It seems that animals are less susceptible to negativity than we humans. They certainly perk their ears up in the presence of a predator, and run like the wind. But pessimism eludes them. So too, annoyance.
They don't speak of it, but I have an inkling that babies are like that too. I'll grant you that they can feel sad, or cold, but fretting about what may or may not come next is not their wont.
I remember when I realized how much of my energy was leaking out in the effort spent fretting about what to make for supper. I tossed out ideas like wilted celery, before actually turning on the burner. Rather than stewing tomatoes, I stewed about what to cook. Something softened when I skipped that step and just started chopping.
