People are still talking about DST darkness, and news outlets state that commissions trying to abolish DST report that employees are less productive once DST starts.
How can that be?
I find that remarkable. I am much more productive in the late fall and winter. Less sunlight, and less pressure to make one’s life resemble a beer commercial 24-hours a day. Especially in a place like where I live. If you’re not on a boat, on the beach, on a bike, or having elegant cocktails on a deck, you’re a Morlock.
I love this time of year. Meditating in the pre-dawn chill of a dark morning, sipping a hot cup of coffee on my pitch-black patio while wrapped in a thick blanket, embracing the early darkness and thanking the sun for going away for a few months so I can get shit done. And I hate to state the obvious, but you knew it was coming:
Iceland only gets four hours of sunlight a day in the winter, and they enjoy one of the happiest populations in the world. Happiness just oooooozes out of people in Iceland. So perhaps people who get depressed and unproductive in the dark winter months should seek problems within themselves, rather than blaming nature.
But fine, I’ll play. Here are some ways to enjoy the late fall darkness:
Have a shag session. Obviously the best choice, and most fun.
Have a light saber war.
Light every candle in your house.
Have a séance.
Meditate.
Drink your first cup of coffee in the cool darkness of your patio or porch.
Take a twilight boat ride.
Go enjoy a well-lit bar.
Cook early. That way dishes are mostly done by the time your body and mind begin to shut down.
Take a walk around your neighborhood and peer in your neighbor’s windows.
Turn on every lamp in the house and then go outside to see how pretty your house looks from the outside looking in.
Play Hide-and-Go Seek.
Give everyone in the family flashlights and play a game in the yard.
Deal with it. You’re an adult, and it’s fall.
(I know, I’m petulant child when it comes to humidity. Listen, one of us has to be the adult here, and it ain’t gonna be me…)
And remember: in a few weeks, you’ll be able to walk around looking at Christmas lights.