There is a Season...

It's funny how I can sit down to write about one thing and then be lead to go somewhere else. Yesterday's post is an example. I was sitting down to write about energy levels and cycles but wound up writing about "koyaanisqatsi", life out of balance.
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I don't think my energy level is changed by sunlight or weather. I love gloomy, rainy days as much as bright sunny days. I think my body connection is to my ancestral roots in Ireland because getting wet, being in rain or snow don't bother me a bit. Maybe I was a duck in a past life.



I have several friends who are affected by "seasonal affectiveness disorder". During the short sun days of winter, they don't have much energy and seem to feel really depressed and unhappy with missing out on their normal activities.



My thinking is this: Maybe every day/week/month/season is not supposed to be like every other one. We live in a climate controlled culture. Many people go from their box=house to their box=car to their box=work/store/mall(/whatever). People seem to think that every day should be as productive as every other day; that what they do in May is the same as what they should be doing in January. But maybe, we're not supposed to live that way. Maybe, the dormancy of winter is for us, too, as well as nature; I mean, we are a part of nature, n'est ce pas? Think about the fact that it's only been since the advent of common people owning motorcars that we have believed ourselves to be above the dictates of weather. Throughout all of history, people would hunker down around the fire in cold, wintery weather, going out only for the most important or festive occasions. Only in the past 50 years or so, have we had the ability to travel with rapid enough speed in an enclosed (usually heated) box to get from point A to point B without being much impacted by temperature and moisture. But our bodies are still built for the past howevermany bijillion years of living in and with weather.



So I say: Embrace winter! Snuggle down. Make stew. Play board games. Read books. Write letters. Feel grateful for modern heating systems. Honor the season and nature. Find the rhythm in this day and time of year and learn to enjoy it's small blessings. Life doesn't always have to be busy and "productive". As nature intended, sometimes a time to pull inward and hibernate is the most regenerative thing one can do.