Water is life. So says Scripture, and so say scientists who are working to make sure there is enough clean water to support human life on Earth. Too bad it’s so darned unpleasant, at least in some of its forms. Especially in the form of cold rain, sneaking inside coat collars and infiltrating shoes and boots as the temperature hovers just above freezing. If there’s anything I hate more than being cold, it’s being cold and wet. It’s uncomfortable and impossible to ignore. Kind of like a cold shower, or the cold water that gets thrown on ideas when it turns out they make no sense or are unworkable. Contrast that with hot water, the metaphor for someone getting in big trouble. A different kind if pain, but pain nonetheless. Because while water is absolutely necessary to life, at the extremes, both hot water and cold water will kill you. Take instead the relief of a glass of cool water after heavy exercise, or the rejuvenation of jumping into a refreshing pool on the hottest day of the summer. Or the relaxation of soaking in a warm bath when your muscles are sore. The temperature is key. That’s true of everything, of course, starting with the weather. But it’s also true of people. No one wants to be a hothead or a cold fish, or maybe, more than that, no one wants to deal with one. We’d rather just stay inside our warm, dry homes than face the cold rain when we can. No child wants to come to a parent who flies off the handle at the slightest provocation, or who reacts to bad news by going silent and freezing people out, and say they made a mistake. They got a bad grade, they broke the microwave, whatever it is. Mistakes, like water, are endemic to life as a human being. An extreme reaction, like screaming at a child, will teach them more about hiding their mistakes than learning to avoid them, or, when mistakes happen, learning to take responsibility and do what they can to repair the damage. No one really wants to share good news, either, with people who belittle it, or react with envy. It’s on all of us to regulate our own temperatures when dealing with those around us: spouses, kids, friends, coworkers, even those we encounter only briefly. We do it to be welcoming and to make people comfortable, and, especially with children, to help them learn how to take their own emotional temperature and adjust it as needed.
About the Author Michelle Martin is staff writer at Chicago Catholic. Contact her at [email protected].