Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Short days

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The further North (or South) we live, the greater the difference in days and nights as we move through the cycle of the seasons. And while we may like those seemingly unending Summer days, that may not necessarily be true for the subsequent short Winter days. Especially when the days are overcast, the amount of daylight seems almost non-existent.

I imagine that a hundred, or even a hundred and fifty, years ago this was far less of a problem. When it got dark to the point that one couldn’t see what needed to be done anymore, there clearly was no need to do it at that time…
That made for long Winter nights, and possibly for large families.

Come the next Summer, the long days were filled with hard labor in order to prepare for the short, dark days and the cold of the next Winter.

However, in todays world we tend to stick to a different rhythm. The rhythm dictated by jobs, family, social contacts, and so on. And with lights everywhere, there is really no need to feel held back in any way by the short, dark days of Winter.
And just in case we do prefer a bit more light, a bit longer days, we can solve that too! Either by using specialty lighting, or by spending those Winter days elsewhere. Anywhere where the days are longer and warmer…

And while it is a good thing that we can solve problems like that; that we don’t have to feel ‘under the weather’ because of the lack of (day)light; in a sense this also causes a kind of ‘disconnect’ from nature as it exists in the area that we call home.
It is like we are forcing ourselves into a year ‘round ‘Summer rhythm’, in which we choose how long our days are and with how much activity we fill them. The natural period of rest and internalization, the time in which we would have huddled with the family around the open fire telling stories, is all but gone.

And so the old way of things, the old stories are forgotten.
We aren’t taught anymore how to spin tales, how to imagine new stories…

Still, when the days are shortening I feel a desire to drink hot chocolate, to eat soup, and to read a good book. To curl up on the couch and reflect about the things that have come and gone over the past year. To rest.
And to start making plans for times ahead, when the days will grow longer again…
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