Hot and Lazy

It's so hot right now that even sitting perfectly still makes me sweat. That's okay, too. I like sitting still, and if I have a really good reason, such as if I were moving and doing something, it might make me woozy, then all the more reason to sit and do nothing. Of course, writing on my little web, as I'm doing right now, isn't really doing nothing, but since I have nothing to say, I figure it's just about the same thing.
I can read, of course, and I have been. I've also been writing in my journal. But mostly I've been saving my energy for my work these days, which is doing a short summer theatre gig. I'm grateful, in a way, for the enervating, sweltering heat. It makes me too laid back and low key to be nervous. Anticipating the preview tonight brings butterflies to my stomach, but I'm too hot to shiver.
Which brings me to a serious question ... Why is it politically incorrect to suggest that cultures and countries in warmer climates are more laid back and less inclined to be rushing and pushing to get somewhere? I've mentioned that a couple of times in conversation and have been roundly chastised for it. How dare I make such sweeping generalizations? I'm not saying tropical cultures are lazy and less ambitious (although I don't think the latter is such a bad thing), I'm merely pointing out that Mother Nature rules, and always has, which is something I repeat over and over again in these blurbs of mine. Climate and geography have determined people's culture in so many ways, from the way we dress, to the buildings we occupy, to the things we do well or don't do at all. And much, much more. After all, necessity is the mother of invention, and the circumstances we live in determine what we need. (Let's face it, the Jamaican bobsled team in the 1988 Winter Olympics was an anomaly.)
Humans are shaped by where they live on this planet. Sure, we influence each other, but this earth of ours shaped us first, and continues to do so. She gets us to move house and home even if we don't want to, just as much as any oppressive political regime. Weather affects our moods on a daily basis, so why on earth shouldn't it affect an entire group of people's consciousness over thousands of years? My mood and behaviour right now have been caused almost entirely by the hot, sweltering weather. It makes me respect this earth and all her wonders more than ever.
Go ahead. I dare you. Go outside wherever you are and tell me that what's going on out there in terms of weather doesn't influence your mood in some small or large way. Of course it does. So think about this planet of ours and the myriad different moods and faces she's had over the millennia, and notice what a great tapestry of people's and cultures there are, and where they are, and how they are. That's the power of this earth. That's the power of Nature. How dare we try to conquer her.
Go with her flow. Live in harmony. And if that means being lazy and doing nothing on a hot summer's day, then all the more power to you.
- G.P.