Seasonal Changes and Mind Games

Does anyone else think that the change from summer to autumn is the most drastic of the seasonal changes we experience?

I was driving late yesterday afternoon and I could not help but be struck at the "all of a sudden" differences I saw and felt as I made my way home. A sea of red tail lights from the traffic slowly moving with me stood out in contrast to the wave of white headlights approaching from the opposite direction....it was barely 4 pm. Surrounding us all, dusk, with its rich hues of purple created by the sun setting through both thick and thin cloud layers, rapidly disappeared as night fell.

The busy surface streets, lined with shopping centers, brilliantly lit with a variety of colored lights displaying restaurant names, gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies, became brighter as the darkness increased. Residential neighborhoods, illuminated by streetlights, were also starting to glow as residents turned on lights both inside and outside their homes.

Here and there people dressed in light coats and hats -- resilent North-westerners armed with an umbrella, a flashlight or a dog, walked along the sidewalks not bothered by the occasional drizzle. Some, the more athletically determined I suppose, dressed in running shorts and shirts, passed and out distanced the walkers with their rhythmic and almost effortless strides. Still the darkness silently enveloped us.

This growing lack of light did not stop many people from continuing their work-related activities either, be that yard clean up, garage cleaning, or in many instances, putting up Christmas decorations. Yes, Christmas decorations. As November moves out and December moves in, we enter the Holiday Trifecta: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

What happened to those long, lazy days of spring and summer? The hours of daylight beginning around 5 am and lingering until 9 pm or later? Not that I utilized the gift, mind you, but that flexibility to be able to be outside to enjoy a sunrise or a sunset was sort of always there should I make use of the opportunity. The busyness of the days, it seemed, could begin or settle like waves gently lapping on the shore.

The shortened days of autumn and winter -- especially as the year closes -- bring an almost frantic state of mind as the holiday activities loom ever-closer on the daily horizon. Morning light delays its arrival which means I am less inclined to move from the warmth and reverie of bed. Once up and moving, the race to complete daily tasks before early sunsets is much more like trying to get to  safety as waves crash the shore ahead of a coastal storm. The added holiday activities, simple ones, really, like decorating our home, the office, just seem to add to the frenzy.

It really is an interesting contrast that we talk about the "lazy" days of spring and summer, in spite of the fact that the days appear longer; while the shortened days of autumn and early winter are crammed with activity that puts an ant farm to shame. It is the same 24 hours. Nothing more. Nothing less. The challenge is making the most of the daily gift we are freely given, which for me means getting out of the mind-game of light and darkness and just doing what needs to be done.