My favorite season is the next one. Each is welcomed, soon to be burdensome. I always look forward to the next and always soon wish this one was behind me. Oh well, interesting subject.
Growing up in the Sonoran Desert meant only two seasons: way too hot or just about perfect. I always longed for the fall leaves, winter snows and rebirth in spring that y'all got to enjoy. I could do without the summer heat though! I've had enough of that to last several lifetimes!
"The arrival of September puts me on edge. I’m reminded of all the things I didn’t do when the days lasted well through the evening," I relate to this so much. Living in Alabama, and being from Pennsylvania & Saint Louis, I was at one point used to the cold. But I am always cold - even in the summer, either because of my thyroid disease or because I don't have much fat on me. I kind of hibernate in the winter, spend a lot of time by the fireplace & spend a stupid amount of money on firewood, try not to leave the house (which isn't usual for me - I live with agoraphobia). Summer is definitely my favorite season. I don't like darkness so it getting dark so early in the winter is really hard on me. I often become depressed because of the lack of sunlight - I am club SAD lamps. I do love spring when it starts to get back to life outside. I hate the sight of the naked trees. I miss green. I don't like Christmas because we only live near my in-laws & I don't particularly gel with them. I ignore Halloween, turn all of the lights off & then no trick or treaters come to our house. Though many people seem to, I don't like being at parties or curating elaborate costumes. I do like Christmas presents though - those are fun. My husband & I almost got divorced this year, in July, & though we've reconciled, I dread being around his family at Christmas this year. No one in his family has reached out to me since we reconciled in July - so it feels really awkward to go see them & I am quite anxious about it. I do like New Years Eve & New Years day, in the same way I love the 1st day of every new month - a fresh start. I don't make resolutions. I like October only because my birthday is in that month - again, presents lol.
I can relate to SAD and struggling with short days and long dark nights. I've struggled with that for years. Here is something that may help - not with SAD necessarily but with reframing your mind around the season: In ancient Europe, the end of the year was Oct 31. The new year began Nov 1, when bulbs were in the ground and the fields were cleared. The new year, then, begins in the darkness. In the womb. This time of going within is absolutely necessary for growth, for life on every level. In the Celtic tradition, the holiday is called Samhain. (pronounced sow-win) It coincides, of course, with All Hallow's Eve - when it was believed that the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest, and souls could visit the living. This was a sacred time. The Catholic Church created All Saints Day on Nov 1 as a way to piggy-back on this ancient belief, and eventually then All Souls Day. Latin cultures blended their own beliefs with the church and that is how we have Days of the Dead, which are, again, a happy time, a time of celebration.
All of this is to say that perhaps as you celebrate your birthday, you look at the winter ahead as fertile ground, a time to plant seeds. Seeds are only communal when held in our hands or as they appear in a pod or flower - but when planted, each seed is alone and singular. So, too, we each need our alone time, our singular time in the darkness. This is where new life begins.
Every year in late October and early November, I consider the year that is ending and what is beginning - what I consciously intend to grow in the coming year and plan for how I will nurture this growth during the months of darkness so that it may emerge in the spring and eventually blossom. This consciousness around the season helps me tremendously and maybe it will help you as well. Consider giving yourself gifts to mark each month or milestones that are important to you. You love presents. Give them to yourself. You deserve them.
Beautiful thoughts and poetry, Jan. By the way, I have a very similar reoccurring dream. I actually love the fall and early winter, and typically dread January and February.
You are not alone in your feelings about January and February. More than 50% of American report depression or "the blues, the blahs" at the beginning of each year. The darkness affects us all. We only manage to stave off our discomfort through holidays lights, celebrations, and gatherings. Once those are over and the expectations of a new year begin, well, it's a challenge to keep our spirits up. Then, if you live in an area where weather can be extreme, this begins to wear you down as well. Chicagoans mostly consider February the worst month - when snow is sloshy and black and it's too cold to melt - and the winter blues are notably worse. :(
My favorite season is the next one. Each is welcomed, soon to be burdensome. I always look forward to the next and always soon wish this one was behind me. Oh well, interesting subject.
Oh Phil, I love that you're always looking forward!
Growing up in the Sonoran Desert meant only two seasons: way too hot or just about perfect. I always longed for the fall leaves, winter snows and rebirth in spring that y'all got to enjoy. I could do without the summer heat though! I've had enough of that to last several lifetimes!
Yikes - I can only imagine what it like to grow up in that climate! Where do you live now?
I'm in Southern California! Still no seasons!
oh my. At least more temperate, not so extreme.
"The arrival of September puts me on edge. I’m reminded of all the things I didn’t do when the days lasted well through the evening," I relate to this so much. Living in Alabama, and being from Pennsylvania & Saint Louis, I was at one point used to the cold. But I am always cold - even in the summer, either because of my thyroid disease or because I don't have much fat on me. I kind of hibernate in the winter, spend a lot of time by the fireplace & spend a stupid amount of money on firewood, try not to leave the house (which isn't usual for me - I live with agoraphobia). Summer is definitely my favorite season. I don't like darkness so it getting dark so early in the winter is really hard on me. I often become depressed because of the lack of sunlight - I am club SAD lamps. I do love spring when it starts to get back to life outside. I hate the sight of the naked trees. I miss green. I don't like Christmas because we only live near my in-laws & I don't particularly gel with them. I ignore Halloween, turn all of the lights off & then no trick or treaters come to our house. Though many people seem to, I don't like being at parties or curating elaborate costumes. I do like Christmas presents though - those are fun. My husband & I almost got divorced this year, in July, & though we've reconciled, I dread being around his family at Christmas this year. No one in his family has reached out to me since we reconciled in July - so it feels really awkward to go see them & I am quite anxious about it. I do like New Years Eve & New Years day, in the same way I love the 1st day of every new month - a fresh start. I don't make resolutions. I like October only because my birthday is in that month - again, presents lol.
I can relate to SAD and struggling with short days and long dark nights. I've struggled with that for years. Here is something that may help - not with SAD necessarily but with reframing your mind around the season: In ancient Europe, the end of the year was Oct 31. The new year began Nov 1, when bulbs were in the ground and the fields were cleared. The new year, then, begins in the darkness. In the womb. This time of going within is absolutely necessary for growth, for life on every level. In the Celtic tradition, the holiday is called Samhain. (pronounced sow-win) It coincides, of course, with All Hallow's Eve - when it was believed that the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest, and souls could visit the living. This was a sacred time. The Catholic Church created All Saints Day on Nov 1 as a way to piggy-back on this ancient belief, and eventually then All Souls Day. Latin cultures blended their own beliefs with the church and that is how we have Days of the Dead, which are, again, a happy time, a time of celebration.
All of this is to say that perhaps as you celebrate your birthday, you look at the winter ahead as fertile ground, a time to plant seeds. Seeds are only communal when held in our hands or as they appear in a pod or flower - but when planted, each seed is alone and singular. So, too, we each need our alone time, our singular time in the darkness. This is where new life begins.
Every year in late October and early November, I consider the year that is ending and what is beginning - what I consciously intend to grow in the coming year and plan for how I will nurture this growth during the months of darkness so that it may emerge in the spring and eventually blossom. This consciousness around the season helps me tremendously and maybe it will help you as well. Consider giving yourself gifts to mark each month or milestones that are important to you. You love presents. Give them to yourself. You deserve them.
Beautiful thoughts and poetry, Jan. By the way, I have a very similar reoccurring dream. I actually love the fall and early winter, and typically dread January and February.
You are not alone in your feelings about January and February. More than 50% of American report depression or "the blues, the blahs" at the beginning of each year. The darkness affects us all. We only manage to stave off our discomfort through holidays lights, celebrations, and gatherings. Once those are over and the expectations of a new year begin, well, it's a challenge to keep our spirits up. Then, if you live in an area where weather can be extreme, this begins to wear you down as well. Chicagoans mostly consider February the worst month - when snow is sloshy and black and it's too cold to melt - and the winter blues are notably worse. :(
Fall is beginnings for me, oddly enough. But ending too. I love all the seasons for their beauty and their toil, but fall best.