There’s a maxim in my area of the South about winter weather: snow that remains is waiting for more snow.

I lived in Chicago for 5 years when I was 18 to 23, so I understand Midwestern snow. And it’s not at all like what we have here. Because in North Carolina, snow falls, maybe 3 inches, and it’s not weird at all to then have highs in the low 60s two days later.

Which means the snow melts quickly and you have a genuine mess. But that snow is not waiting around.

We had three inches of snow last Saturday night. And I forgot to tell you that everything grinds to a serious halt when we get the slightest bit of snow. Schools close. Businesses that can, go remote. Grocery stores look like you might expect when one of the dumb blond TV announcers reports that nuclear missiles are incoming in 30 minutes. Which is kind of crazy, since in our heart of hearts that the snow is not going to be around for long.

But it’s Thursday now, and there’s still snow on the ground from last weekend. Which means the snow is staying around. Waiting for more snow.

Of course, there’s a perfectly reasonable meteorological explanation for this little statement. Snow that’s waiting around remains there because the temperatures have remained cold. Cold enough that the snow doesn’t melt. And cold temperatures combined with a forecast of precipitation means more snow.

What’s the takeaway from this? We’ve all heard cliches, but this is not a cliche. A cliche is a speech trick used to stop conversation and thought. A saying is something different. A saying is often a shortcut for describing a reality, and that’s what this one does. A saying like this is a tool for understanding the world, while a cliche does the opposite: it keeps thought down. And while thinking isn’t the whole of life (our intellect isn’t the whole or even the dominant part of the way we interact with the world) thinking is important. We’ve learned that in the last two years when mindless, nonthinking compliance has become a virtue in some circles.

So value thinking but also value your ancestors, and we learn some of our ancestral wisdom from sayings and proverbs and maxims handed down to us. Your ancestors didn’t have access to some of the tools we have now but they knew the importance of careful observation. Watching the snow melt was a clue about the future. We don’t have to think about things like that as much as they did, but you can be sure there are things we’re missing because we don’t observe. Look carefully, see the world, and see what you can learn.