We borrowed the title for this article from a Jimmy Buffett song. The chorus always floats around in my mind as we travel south towards Galveston Bay.
These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane
Ten degrees of latitude separate our cottage on the High Plains from our home on Galveston Bay. We enjoy both places, but something about leaving the frozen tundra behind for the beach elevates our attitude.
We have a sign above our back door at the cottage that we see every day on the way out.
“Attitude is Everything. Pick a Good One.”
Attitude is not dependent on latitude but getting plenty of sunshine is one surefire way to improve whatever attitude you pick. Attitude is a frequency tuner for the Great Wide World. While we can’t always control external events, we can influence our attitude toward them. As one of my favorite baseball players, Wade Boggs, used to say, “A positive attitude triggers a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It serves as a catalyst and ignites extraordinary results.”
This year, we spent most of the winter on the highlands and nearly went insane as the dark, cold closed in around us and choked back our laughter. With a few weeks of winter remaining, we decided to change our attitude with a little change of latitude. The chain reaction of outcomes is off to a good start. Overnight lows are warm enough that we can walk the dogs barefoot in the predawn light.
No long underwear, no winter boots, no down jacket, no stocking cap, and no gloves. Nothing but positive thoughts and extraordinary results. One of the first events after arriving at the Bay was to BBQ a couple of pounds of fresh Gulf Shrimp and wash ’em down with some Saint Arnold’s Spring Bock, as we soaked up some powerful sunshine, and sunshine has a lot to do with attitude.
The daylight difference between 40º and 30º latitude is 12 minutes. That might not sound like much, but it adds up to an hour and a half per week or a half day per month of more sunshine—and more is better when we’re soaking up sunshine! Even more important is getting sunlight on as much skin as possible, which is a problem in Colorado. We get plenty of sun, but when it’s minus 2º, taking off your clothes does not work very well.
“Rise up this mornin’, Smile with the risin’ sun.” – Bob Marley
Sunlight is a powerful health tonic. It profoundly impacts cell mitochondria, hormones, and brain function. New scientific research proves that light affects our moods, circadian clock, energy levels, and is a key to solving chronic disease. Sunlight is life-giving energy from the Sun. It excites movement of electrons and creates the journey we call life. Plants use photosynthesis, and we use mitochondria to harvest the energy from the sun.
The key to the Latitude/Attitude connection is the sun. Full spectrum sunlight brings health and laughter while blue light from indoor LED and fluorescent lights causes depression, circadian dysfunction and illness. So, whether you’re hanging out at 20º, 30º or 40º latitude, get outside, soak up more sunshine, and elevate your attitude!
