Friday, October 31, 2008

Seasonal Changes

This weekend we move back to standard time. I'm a sunshine person and the signal of the autumn and winter seasons approaching gives me pause. I don't like dark and cold. It's said the days are shorter ... but they still contain 24 hours. Carl Jung's quote that "there are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course" reminds me that it all balances out eventually. I have days of opportunity in front of me. Daylight is gone sooner, but I continue with the same number of hours available and I live in the electricity age, so while it's dark outside, inside glows with the warmth and light of modern conveniences.

Not liking something doesn't mean I can't value and learn from it. We will have days with more darkness than light, but the seasons swing back and the light returns. Now, as twilight's shadows cover the outdoors, I'm not going to allow the shadows to fall across my mind and stall my attempts at writing, creating and otherwise taking full advantage of the time available. If I understand that the early darkness can generate a "downer" mood, then I know I can choose my response to it.

Shadows fall across our lives in many ways. The shadows of loss, shadows of conflict, shadows of financial crisis all work to darken our view of life. We take on the negative messages and lose sight of the possibilities that are available. I spoke with someone in the banking industry and he recently changed jobs, but still in banking and with a significantly higher salary.

Possibilities exist! Can you see them? Don't let the shadows separate you from the light of your dreams. Keep walking and you will come through the valley of shadows and step out into the light of promise.