On the even of my changing of my seasons, where I shift from home busy to work busy, I can’t help but think about how the ‘real world’ marches to its monotone drum.
It’s always been puzzling to me how so many ignore the seasons, pretending that a variety of climate constantly in motion won’t affect them or their plans for the day, the week, or the year. Often they’ll put themselves in dangerous situations, thinking they can somehow ‘beat the weather’. Or be upset because vacation plans were disrupted.
Despite what we’ve been taught, life is not supposed to be one long endless routine with planned breaks on a calendar. The forty hour work week, the scheduling blocks of time in a consecutive way to maximize profits, is completely unnatural.
Humans are supposed to ebb and flow with Nature, taking cues from the climate. In most places, there are noticeable seasons. Hot, cold, dry, wet…all things that are supposed to dictate the day’s focus.
Yet in our “modern” world, we live in a vacuum completely detached from Nature. Day in and day out, we are expected to live in a climate-controlled space, and be there no matter what condition of weather. Variation from this unnatural routine is often punished, and listening to the natural world is discouraged.
We all know this is wrong. We know, at least deep down, a “full time job” should not be the main means of survival. We are all talented individuals with skills that don’t necessarily fit into a 40-hour work week, and certainly not a 20-hour minimum. We need rest to recharge, and time to contemplate problems or come up with new ideas. We need seasons.
This current system of life needs to end before a new one can begin. Our habits will need to shift - most likely dramatically. We shouldn’t think of the impending collapse as an ending; we should see it as a new beginning. A chance to start over, and create a better society that better matches our natural world. It shouldn’t be feared. It should be welcomed.
If our ancestors survived the seasons, so can we.
A monarch caterpillar that will transform into a butterfly, utilizing the seasons and thriving in harmony with Nature.