Jan 24th, 2026 Saturday Sunny but VERY cold
Like many other kids, I have plenty of quirks.
For instance, in elementary school, I was quite motivated whenever there was a bad weather day, be it snowy, stormy, or anything else.
One time, I was waiting in line for lunch with some classmates. The sky was dark and the wind was howling. The chill even sneaked inside the old classroom building, so we were applying what we just learned from science class – moving our bodies around to generate heat. Watching all the pupils around me trying to stand as close to each other as decorum permitted, my eyes were beaming.
“Why you seem happy in a crappy day like this?” my classmate posed the question.
To be honest, part of the reason was that teachers tend to be less strict with rules, especially about break time. Some teachers even let us leave early, for fear that our commute home would be delayed by the weather. Yet the real cause stemmed from this observation –
“Don’t you think that it is during the natural disasters that the solidarity and cohesion among humans are particularly strong?” I replied to a rather confused audience.
Human beings are animals of society. We are genetically wired to live and thrive in communities. However much one values solitude and independence, no one can truly survive long, completely alone.
Nevertheless, modern cultures often gives the illusion that we ARE self-sufficient, to the extent that we feel that we can get everything we need without ever interacting with another person, although we conveniently forget that behind all the services and structures that we rely on, there is tremendous amount of work done and sometimes continuously being done by someone else.
When nature is striking to show its power, this “common enemy” pushes us to momentarily overlook our differences and emphasize our similarity – after all, we are the same species. We all want to make it through. We need the strength and warmth of each other.
In those moments, when the connections with other folks are remarkably salient, I feel part of something bigger, and I feel safe.
Today is one of the coldest days this season (yesterday was even worse). The air is freezing dangerously, and one could get a frostbite in less than ten minutes. A large university in town has decided to cancel all classes, and numerous offices close their doors.
Nonetheless, indoor heating, built by engineers decades ago, allows us to bundle up at home, preferably in a soft blanket snuggling with loved ones. As I simmer a pot of nutritious and tasty meat sauce with shiitake on the stove, Yuuki and Sesame have taken their usual approach to comfort each other when room temperature is less than their liking. I sure wish I could join that kitty pile.
Despite the bleak outlook, I still believe that, sooner or later, winter will retreat, and spring will return.