Day 9

Day 9

The ever-quickening cycle of the seasons is swinging into autumn (or 'fall'), and the changes to the weather are already apparent. It's started raining regularly again, the air feels moist, my plants don't need watering twice a day, and condensation is forming on windows. The days are also becoming noticeably shorter. Maybe it's because I never paid much attention before, but I've really seen this summer how incredible the difference is between the summer and winter solstice (Solstices?  Solstci? I'm not sure, I'm writing this late again, I blame the sun doing down earlier :). At the height of summer, it would still be light and warm outside at nearly 10pm, when I was going to bed. Today, it was pitch darkness by around 7:30, and it will only continue to get darker.

It served as yet another reminder to me of the brilliance of our natural world, and our growing separation from it. Many, many moons ago, people would sync up their sleep cycles to the length of the days; staying awake and working longer into the summer nights, and be in bed early in the low light of winter. Nowadays, we always look at the time on our phones, rather than what the sky is doing. I've not read much into the effect that this has, although I'm sure Matthew Walker has written at great length on the subject. But I do know that, as we stop observing the cycles of nature, we miss out on something truly beautiful.

I try to use as much natural light as possible, with my curtains open all day instead of having my light on. I also go out in the morning and do some exercise, so I'm probably more sensitive to this than the average suburban dweller. There are days when I look up at the sky, especially the cliché of a sunset, and my whole life just pauses. Just for a few minutes. I always feel, renewed afterwards. 

There are things in this world that never stop; time, business, social media feeds. If there were to be one thing I'd love for you to take from these so far (thank you if you've been reading, by the way), then it's to always take the time to pause, especially in nature. I'm not of the level yet to put into words how it changed my life, but I do know it's for the better. I feel, lighter, clearer, free, even if just for a moment. If you put your feed on silent, then you can forget about it after a while, but nature is one cycle that can never, will never, stop.