From my personal journal, a while back:

Looking out this window at 7am, I can see barely any light in the sky because of the overcast, meaning today will be a great day of dim sunlight and mist. I never really recognized my favor for what is referred to as “bad weather”, nor did I ever question the convention that labels rain or lack of sun as negative, so it isn’t surprising that I didn’t question all the associated thinking that goes along with the subtle values of right and wrong. What people call good and bad nowadays isn’t really such, anyway. The labels are more about levels of personal convenience and whether one can tolerate the condition.

I really only had a superficial awareness of this idea until years ago when in Yosemite I saw two people hiking on the side of the mountain in a storm, in the cold and wet, with a waterproof map.

At that point in my life, it blew my mind that anyone would be outside when it was 40 degrees and raining and likely to storm harder, but there they were, not only tolerating the weather but seemingly thriving. I’m not even sure I said anything to anyone about my observation of them because at the time I wasn’t aware it was a revelation to be had — and I’m not sure anyone in the group would have cared, either.

But over the years since, I grew to admire the attitude and gradually changed the way I approach the environment as an interface, no longer waiting for convenience. The image of those two people hiking in the rain still remains, and forms the basis for why I wanted to go north to where life is not as convenient as in the lower-48.

And maybe eventually I would like to live in Fairbanks, or somewhere equally difficult to survive. I mean why not.