Halfway through the summer and I feel like I’m still skipping down the boardwalk by the beach, squinting into the sun.
My energy is high, focused and endless. With plentiful sunshine I have wide latitude – I can eat pretty much what I want without going into a carb coma, exercising doesn’t feel like moving a mountain, I wake up easily and head off to bed later without penalty. There is no mid-afternoon slump, just a break to get fresh air.
The light is slipping away
But the days are getting shorter. Sunrise now comes about 45 minutes later than at the start of summer and sunset has crept back about half-an-hour. Slowly, invariably, my wide summer boardwalk is narrowing to a skinny balance beam as the days of sunlight retreat.
Urgency: Use it or lose it
That scares me.
I’ve felt a sense of urgency the last few weeks to use this highly focused mental energy before it starts to fade like the summer days. I’ve been spending long hours brainstorming ideas on paper, creating plans and strategies, outlining upcoming content for Winter Blues Coach programs and workbooks. August will be a writing marathon from beginning to end.
And it’s been easy, almost effortless. The gray mental fog that can settle in to match the gray days of fall and winter is not a worry.
A midsummer day’s dream
We can’t hold onto summer forever, as much as we’d like, if we live in places where the seasons change. Despite our cultural standardizations – work schedules, school schedules and holidays – we’re hard-wired into the rhythm of the planet and the seasonal patterns. We’re deluding ourselves if we believe we can outsmart more than 3 billion years of evolution, despite our technical brilliance.
Focusing the energy
So rather than squander this summer energy, I’m focusing and channeling it. I know that as we move into September in the Northern Hemisphere, the light coming in my windows will noticeably change and my desk won’t have such lovely indirect light.
My creative energy, which is bursting out in all directions right now like a riot of annual summer flowers, will turn introspective as the temperature cools. Ideas will come more slowly and quietly. I’ll have to change my eating patterns, exercise more diligently and adhere to disciplined sleep schedule.
The quiet is coming
It’s all part of the planetary rhythms that govern life. Rather than fight it, I’m consciously flowing with it.
How about you? How do you change from summer to winter?
What shifts do you make in your energy, routines and activities?
What help would you like in making seasonal shifts?
Let us know in the comments.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I am scared spitless. Like you, I feel the summer slipping away and I feel like I haven’t even started yet!
I get so scared about how I’m going to be able to run my business this winter, esp. if we haven’t gotten far enough along for at least Mike to come home, if not for us to move out.
This house seems to depend on me being Pollyanna Perky, which just hasn’t happened in winter since I moved back here.
As you say, mucho incentive to move forward fastest.
Back to work!
-Birdy :>
Birdy,
I hope it makes you feel calmer that you’re going to have new resources to deal with this winter now that you’ve committed to taking care of yourself and managing your winter blues. Getting the high energy, high priority work done now is a great start, as you plan how to match your workload to your available energy this winter. You’ve got support, girlfriend.
Marsha
hey Marsha
We’re at the opposite end of the seasonal spectrum at the moment (still Winter here in Oz). I do recall how i feel in February though — it is usually the hottest month, and depending on when summer has started, we could be deep into four months of hot and humid summer. So I am often looking forward to a change in temperature at the equivalent time of the year ‘down under’. I’m also looking forward to wearing an extra layer or longer sleeves/pants, and not being in a lather of sweat when I go to put my makeup on after a shower in the mornings.
Hey Jill,
I hear you. I love the onset of the cool weather. I feel more alive and everything looks sharper. Cool nights and cool mornings are a treat. It’s just the gray days that inevitably follow that are the not-so-nice part. Thanks for stopping by!
Marsha,
I have family members who are several affected by SAD and I’ve felt the effects myself occasionally, so I was thrilled to find your site. You are off to a wonderful start here. Your site looks beautiful, it is well organized and clear, and you seem to have some really good ideas that can be developed further. I can’t wait to see what you’re up to next!
A couple of years ago I actually felt claustrophobic one winters day. It was mid February here in New England. The sky was gray, the snow was gray, the trees were bare and brown. Everything felt impossibly heavy and oppressive. But, I was looking hard and eventually I found it…. one break in the clouds where the sun was peeking through. I think of that often and try to remember if I only look hard enough, I can find the sun. It’s the remembering to look that often trips us up!
Have a great day.
Susan, Thank you so much! I’ve learned so much I can’t wait to share. And you’re absolutely right — if you look hard enough, you can find the bright spots that will motivate you. They are there, between the clouds. Please come back soon.
Cheers,
Marsha
@Marsha – Thank you so much! It does help to know that, and it helps even more to be reminded of it.
@Susan – Such a beautiful story! Thank you for sharing!
You’re right – the trick is to find the blue sky, even, or especially, when it seems the hardest to do so. Thnx for the reminder! 