Kay:
Hey there, Questers. Welcome! It’s Tuesday, October 13th, and this is Episode 202. We have such a fun quote for you today, and one that is near and dear to both of our hearts.
Shi:
It’s a tiny little song lyric from the popular 1960s and 70s band, The Temptations, and the lyric is, “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.”
Kay & Shi:
*(Singing)* I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day….You might notice that from My Girl, my girl, my girl, my, my girl.
Shi:
We’re going to do this the whole podcast…
Kay:
Well, we love this particular quote and the start of this incredible song. But, there’s nothing, I don’t think, that encapsulates sunshine more often than the way that a dad feels about his daughter, and this song is near and dear to my heart for that reason…(Kay here!)…As it is the song that my dad and I danced to at my wedding to my husband, Danny. And Shi – reflecting on our dad and daughter dance songs – you picked a sunshine song as well!
Shi:
Well, our dad is such a sunny human being – perhaps a perfect, human embodiment of sunlight and sunshine and positivity and lightheartedness. And so, it was only appropriate! Our daddy daughter’s dance at my wedding was, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” by Stevie Wonder. So, both of us had sunshine songs with our dad, and that’s SO appropriate because he’s known as a surfer. He’s known as a beach dude. He loves the ocean. Always loved getting his tan on, and like known in our family for making his hair blonder via saltwater and sun…It’s a very specific formula. So, you learn how good a Summer was based on how you notched the hair!
Kay:
*(Laughter)* How you notched!
Shi:
So, we love sunshine and we love this lyric and we love that we both get to have that memory with our dad. But, “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.” We can take this literally and metaphorically, can’t we?
Kay:
Now, let’s take this from a literal perspective, just for a quick moment. So, really quick, let’s just all give ourselves a second of silence. A second of gratitude for the sun. Thank you, sun! I mean, it IS the all sustaining heat force that our entire galaxy.
Shi:
MVP Ms. Sun!
Kay:
From a literal perspective, even when the clouds are up in the sky, the sun is shining brightly on the other side of that, doing all kinds of things for us. So, even when it’s cloudy in the literal sense, you STILL have sunshine.
Shi:
It’s still there. You get UV Rays through the clouds, but it’s also still there, whether or not the clouds are there. I know, especially for me when you’re younger, just this realization alone was such a powerful one. When I got to coach Girls on the Run last year for Emerie, (who was then in fourth grade), her team at her school had this whole lesson about understanding that the sun is still shining, even when there’s clouds in front of it. And that your stars and your sky are still shining, even when there’s clouds in front. And they teach this to these young girls, because social emotional learning is all the rage right now, as it rightly should be! And, through this learning, you can use techniques like breathing and deep breathing, which is of course known and proven to help your wellbeing and your mind and your mood, and to – in a way – blow those clouds away! So, it kind of metaphorically teaches these girls to use their deep breathing, to blow the clouds away, and to see that the sun or the stars are still shining behind them. So there is still sunshine, even on a cloudy day when we’re taking this literally. But, of course, we know The Temptations meant this a little bit more metaphorically…
Kay:
Well, and in that metaphorical sense, (as the girls were taught in Girls on the Run), I think we really see that, once again, erring on the positive side of life and doing your best to find the sunshine – even in the midst of the clouds – can create a lot of beauty for you. There is literally nothing without the sun. So many people will subscribe to the idea that they’re just perpetually a pessimist, or a negative person. But, the fact that negativity exists means that positivity exists as well. And one of the gifts of being human is the gift of choice. So, maybe today you’re feeling especially quality, but we want to remind you that – just like The Temptations, “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day” – and so can you!
Shi:
Well, that brings you to your quest! And, naturally, it is a Sunshine Quest! Now, the benefits of actual sunshine are well studied and documented. You’ve no doubt heard of the amazing benefits of creating serotonin, vitamin D, and all that good stuff. Getting sun is good for you, (not too much sun), but just a splash! And so, that is your quest today…Get in the sun for just five minutes. You can do it! And, if you’re in some kind of crazy circumstance where you can not get into the sun for five minutes, we encourage you to sing a sunny song. We’ve given you a few sunshine songs here in this podcast, but there are plenty of others too! But, no matter what it is that you do, get a little sunshine in your life today! Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
