I am the creator of my days. I choose possibility and joy.
I am the creator of my days. I choose the opportunities available in the darkness.
I am the creator of my days. I choose the armor I need to thrive.
Do you know anything about gardening? I have just started my life as a gardener/hobby farmer and I am learning so much. I also am having to unlearn just as much.
I started my garden last year and with a bunch of seeds and I was terribly worried about frost dates and cold snaps and how much of an actual growing season I would have. Where I'm living, the weather can be quite unpredictable from October through May and I just didn't know how I would be able to grow EVERYTHING in the summertime.
The shiny time.
The time when everything blooms and it feels easy and we're so happy to be outside and get our feet in the grass.
That's the best time. That's the time you have to do everything because once it gets cold and gray out then there is nothing to do and you just have to suck it up for three months of freezing until it can be nice again, right? RIGHT?
Well, that's what I used to think. That's what everyone has always said and warned me about. Why is it people only want to tell you the shitty things about your life? We'll need to talk about that some other time, I digress.
We talk about shadow season, the dark time of the year, and seasonal affective disorder. It really does seem like after November 1st we should just hibernate until March, why try? If it weren't for the holidays there would be no purpose for anything.
That's what I am unlearning because it's just not true. In my gardening example, I was taught to look at frost dates, don't plant these things if there is any risk of frost, or make sure you get these plants in before the first frost, otherwise everything will die or not be as fruitful or just be a waste of time.
What I am currently trying to wrap my head around is the reality of MY season, where I live in my town, not what zone I live in according to a seed packet. I started taking this gardening class and it has us look at the average temps throughout the year, highs and lows for each month. And yeah, obviously it gets colder this time of year, but it's not quite as cold as I was lead to believe. You can still grow things, you can still prep for the next year, and there is still a lot of possibility and ability to do things even when it isn't as perfect and shiny.
And I'm sure you've heard these analogies before, that we all need a winter to let the weeds die back so you can be a beautiful butterfly in the spring.
But what I'm trying to say is that when things look like they are dark and unworkable and that they're going to suck, that might just be what someone said once, and now everyone is repeating. (aka a thought you had one time and choose to believe over and over)
Even though things are changing and not quite the same as they were when things were going so great - summer time - look at the reality of where you are right now.
What's really going on around you? Look at your average highs and lows, for these days ahead where there is less light and maybe more responsibilities and expectations. What is necessary for you to do? What expectations and boundaries can you set for yourself that will make you feel your best?
What are you able to do in this different place or time? Maybe you can't go for that after-dinner walk because it's too dark out, but could you do a pre-dinner walk and eat a little later? Could you get a headlamps and walking lights for the whole family and make it a different experience? Could you get feet warmers so you're not miserable while you're walking? Is it really as bad as it seems or are you just choosing to see it that way?
What tools do you need to protect what you're planting at this different time? In gardening when it starts to get cold at night but decent during the day, you can put a blanket around the base of the plant, or cover the plants to protect them from a hard frost. Do you need a light therapy lamp? A special outfit to wear on the cold drisley days where you can't get outside?
We have to take off the filter that culture throws over us that things suck just because they do. The dark days are just different and we need different tools, they are not bad or horrible. They just are and like everything we are the ones that get to quantify and define each and all of our days.
