Today was sunny with blue skies. Average temperature for today is 56F (13C) degrees. Unfortunately, despite a brilliant sun all day, the high temperature was 13F degrees below that average and we had fresh snow on the ground this morning. For some the unseasonable cold might make one believe that Winter was never going to end.

Any other day the Sun would have bumped us up over 60F (15C) degrees, but today arctic air won. I am convinced within a few days or so the Sun will bring us back to normal, maybe even higher than normal.

Whether it is the weather or life in general, it is easy for people to become discouraged. I am no stranger to falling into the trap of negative thinking, especially when it comes to the weather. I grumble about the cold, the short days, the snow, the lack of snow, almost anything. I should live at a lower latitude, but I’m not sure it would help my attitude.

The problem is that unhappiness spreads like an infection and unhappy people do stupid things. Last week I heard a speaker talk about wacky laws and how the wackiest laws are a reaction to some event.

Humans don’t do their best work when they are unhappy, and now there are a lot of unhappy people. People are out of work, money is tight, and it’s still Winter. Unfortunately, right now a lot of people are making decisions and this is not the best ‘season’ to make those decisions. The truth is we have a lot to be happy about. A year ago it looked like there was no bottom to the economy, jobs were being slashed at historic rates, and the financial earthquake was rocking the entire world. Things are a thousand times better now, but we still have a lot of discouraged people and I don’t really understand why. Spring is already here and Summer will follow, but we are still reacting to last year’s disaster.

My four year-old boy likes Curious George on PBS. I find it amusing that some of the greatest disasters in the life of the “Man in the Yellow Hat” are preceded by him saying, “Be a good little monkey.” One can question the wisdom of the man in yellow when he leaves Curious George alone for long periods, but you have to admire his ability to keep a positive attitude even in the face of constant monkey-caused disasters.

A lesson for us all.