Myth April

In American story books and our immediate definition, spring _ particularly April _ is a wonderful breakout from dreadful winter. The air is pleasantly cool, flowers bloom in profusion, bees buzz everywhere, trees break into brilliant new crisp foliage. And there is some truth in all that, in general.

But in particular, April has some nasty surprises. Depending on where you live it has frost, snow storms, high heat, tornadoes, floods, destructive wind. It can be filled with mud, black flies, mosquitoes, and ticks. Each day varies tremendously even if the average matches our idealization. 

And I think that summarizes a lot of the problems with our thinking in general. On average, maybe mostly true, but reality always contains contradictions and extremes and varies a lot from place to place and day-to-day. And even the idea of “average” is a little suspicious. As the old saying goes, “if you have your feet in boiling water and ice on your head, on average the temperature is just right.”

So I am suspicious of media reports about how things are going “in general.” People are angry, youth is violent, and so on and on. Maybe on average, maybe not, but even if true less meaningful in particular situations then it sounds.

Today, fortunately, is one of those fine April days that matches the beautiful myth.