Kate Hawkesby: It's not all bad news with a dry hot summer en route

Like many of us, I was hoping for a triumphant Saturday of wins - the AB’s against France and the Warriors against the Panthers.   OK fair enough that was probably a tougher call the latter one, but a double win would have been a much-needed morale boost for a country in the doldrums at the moment.   Sadly it was not to be. And after some fleeting optimism and pre-emptive excitement - we are all back in the doldrums again.   And our mood or collective funk is not only annoying, but it must be worrying politicians. Because when we are grumpy we are likely to go one of two ways.   Apathy - can’t be bothered - there’s no light at end of tunnel, everything sucks. Or two, the current situation sucks so bad we simply have to blow it up and start over. That option is bad news for Labour.   Mind you apathy’s not a great option for them either. I think we may be on track for setting a record for gloom in this country, in terms of how long it’s lasting, so I’m looking for silver linings. I was thrilled to see some hope potentially on the horizon in the form of the weather. El Niño is coming! Apparently a hot dry summer is on the way, which is just in the nick of time given we all feel totally rained out and over the wet.   Also given we feel short-changed from not getting much of a summer last year. We all badly need some sunshine, some warmth and some longer days.   It’s good for morale and it’s good to lift general mood. But I also think we need to get back some pride in where we live - some pride in our country and our environment.   We want our streets and CBDs cleaned up, our oceans cleaned up, our walkways rejuvenated, our roads fixed. Our neighbourhoods to feel safe again, our grocery trolley to not cost so damn much every time.   That’s not going to happen overnight sadly - but the hope of it happening will hopefully drive optimism and confidence.   I was watching the ‘Blue Zones’ documentary on Netflix over the weekend and one of the commonalities of Blue Zone regions - which by the way are places where people live the longest – so they’re places with the highest number of centenarians in them and one thing they all have in common no matter where in the world they are, is their love of their own environment.   They love where they live. How often can we say that? Another factor is that the stresses they feel are stressors they can control or do something about.   So they live in a way that they don’t absorb any stressors that are outside out of their control which enables them to actively cope with their stress.   For example, their goat is cold, find a way to make the goat warm. The stress is solvable. They’re not consuming global media, social media, large amounts of information that can be overwhelming and out of their control.   There are lots of other factors at play of course, like nutrition and exercise and so on, but it’s a good lesson in just managing what you can control, and what’s around you - rather than worrying about all the stuff we have no input on.   So I guess my point is, maybe with Spring on the way and a warm summer promised, change potentially on the horizon, and a good dose of optimism and gratitude for what we have, maybe we’ll all cheer up a bit soon, no matter how many times the ABs lose. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.