I do appreciate the extra hour of sleep, but I also feel like the extra hour we receive on this weekend every year is a small gift that makes the blow of next week easier. Autumn just seems to get busier every year. Christmas comes faster and I seem to be involved in more at work as the years go by.
And next week the darkness in England really arrives. By mid-December I usually start to notice signs of the sun setting by lunchtime. I don't know how people in Scandinavia and even Scotland survive as the days are short enough for me in London. If you didn't know, London is much further north than New York (Madrid is approximately the same latitude line as New York). I had no idea about this when I moved here (apparently I don't pay much attention to maps). On December 16th of this year, the sun will rise at 8 a.m. and set at 3:52 p.m.
I don't really mind the darkness that much. I'm lucky – I know people who really suffer in London winters. I actually like the fact that winters here feel completely different than the summers. Although we don't get too much heat in the summer, we get plenty of light and it makes the days feel long and full of possibilities.
But I'm not so great with change and this week I'll feel disoriented. When it starts getting dark at 4 p.m., I'll feel sad. It's the shock, I guess, and the feeling that once again, time is passing. Things have happened to me and friends of mine recently that has made me think a lot recently about how little control we have over our lives.
The only thing we do have control over is the way that we react to our constantly shifting lives. We can take the challenges and difficulties in stride and focus on what we are grateful for and enjoy the small things that we love daily – for me: morning walks, reading books on my commute, writing, cooking and being able to exercise again (more on this next week). We can choose to be tenacious, to approach life with humor and joy.
It's not always easy, but it's at least something to strive for. And as the nights draw in we can appreciate seeing friends, eating good food and drinking nice hot drinks, like mulled wine or hot cocoa. Light a candle in the darkness, so to speak. How do you cope with the winter blues and our lack of control in life generally?
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