Hello friends,
I’m making a list of what I can do with my imaginary extra hour as we return to standard time. That hour doesn’t actually exist. We invented the hour to suit some cause. Whose cause and why remain a mystery, or at least the reasons fail to convince me that we should go flip-flopping time.
Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., at Harvard Medical School, cites the benefit of more light in the mornings.
“Morning sunlight exposure stops the floodgates of melatonin, our sleep hormone, and switches to the wake phase of our circadian rhythm. This is important for our brain to say we can start our day."
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) advocates making standard time permanent for our health and safety calling for the return of time patterns more aligned to our natural biological rhythms. Those dark mornings and the yearly shifts affect our physical and mental health.
According to the Monmouth University Poll, most people want to eliminate the time changes. But like most polls, the wording of the questions can affect the results, which the Monmouth reports highlight across several other recent polls.
Time should not be this complicated or controversial. I wonder how we managed to function before finagling with the hands of time.
This springing forward and falling back must stop. The hours on the clock artificially define and parse out our day. Undoubtedly, we need a way to manage our days, but I believe what matters most is how we spend those hours.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
So, what will I do with this “extra hour?”
I may read a good book, hold hands, give a hug, write a poem, gaze at the setting sun, or marvel at the moon and stars dancing across the night sky.
Regardless of the hour, I will live gratefully, joyfully, and purposefully in this moment.
What always helps me is to abandon time to find the present.
Watch the story of making the last Beatles song.
The Beatles wrote the most stunning music. If you haven’t heard “Now and Then,” it is doubly amazing since technology captured the voice and guitar of John and George from old recordings to create the last Beatles song.
“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.”
― Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Screenplay”
Find a little wonder this week. And don’t forget to set back your clocks tonight. The sun will shine brightly in the morning.
With gratitude,
Kathryn
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We turned our clocks back a few weeks ago. I still wake at ‘the same time’ though as I don’t use an alarm unless I have to - it just looks different on a clock. Soon it’ll be dark here for hours and hours, with max 5 hours of daylight (and the sun is low in the sky so it’s a watery light). I’m happy to say that I’ll be missing it this year as I head south to Australia and my second summer for the year. A great use of my time, I reckon!