In millennia past, humans lived from day to day, surviving through subsistence. As hunter-gatherers, their lives depended on their ability to find and store the food and materials they needed to survive. Forced to travel from place to place to follow natural cycles and animal migrations, their lives were tenuous. A particularly severe winter, a slight climactic change, a missing accustomed food source, or the chance death of a critical adult could wipe out an entire tribe. These Stone Age people constantly flirted with bad weather, hypothermia, and starvation as well as trying not to be eaten by a tertiary carnivore—humans were decidedly not high on the food chain back then.
As hunter-gatherers, their lives depended on their ability to find and store the food and materials they needed to survive.
As time went on, humans learned to use tools, make fire, and communicate with more ease. With these new skills, life became less tenuous. Instead of seasonal wildcrafting, Neolithic humans learned to grow the plants they needed. In addition to place-specific hunting, they learned to raise and use animals. Fire was started with flint and steel instead of laborious friction. Illnesses were treated with medicinal herbs. Warm clothing from animal skins offered realistic protection from the elements, and stone tools made every task easier. With these modern improvements came increased life expectancy and perhaps a bit of time to kick back and enjoy life a little.
Stone Age living revolved around the seasons, and early religions honored Earth’s bounty and gave thanks for the gifts of weather, food, and life itself. Foods were tightly connected to the season: greens were enjoyed in the spring, berries in the summer, root vegetables in the fall, and dried stores throughout the winter. Daily life was governed by tasks and activities that tied in to the current season. Planting and new births happened in the spring. Summer featured long hot days in which to accomplish many tasks, such as drying food, killing and skinning animals, weaving cloth, and gathering berries. Autumn meant time to hunt, harvest, and store food.
And then came winter.
In winter, the ancients retreated to their caves and hunkered down. Wrapped in their warmest skins, they built fires against the cold, baked breads, and ate from pots of stews and soups that simmered over the fire. It was too cold to go outside, so they remained indoors and passed the time, perhaps weaving baskets, working leather, or forming tools from flint and obsidian. The people probably told stories, recounting hunts or other important events. Perhaps the clan’s knowledge keeper would recount history in traditional oral fashion. They may have sung songs, enjoyed games, or even enacted mock hunts around the fire. And they would pray, in their fashion, for the return of warmth and the return of the light, which was believed to happen at the whim of the gods.
Winter was a dangerous time for the people. Enough food had to be put away to get them through the winter, and even with food stores, starvation was a constant threat. The weather was a hazard, too. Fuel had to be gathered in milder months to furnish warmth throughout the long, cold months. Enough animals must be hunted to provide warm skins and furs. Dried plants and raw materials created a store for medicines, storage containers, tools, weapons, clothes, and housing.
The tribe survived through cooperation. They dressed warmly, ate high-fat foods, and passed the days communally. Light was limited, so when light was sufficient they worked at their tasks, and when it was too dark to work, they slept. The reduced activity and extra sleep conserved energy, reduced caloric expenditure, and protected such valuable resources as food and fuel. Their lives during those cold, dark months mimicked a state of voluntary hibernation. They respected the winter, understood what it meant to their lives, and adapted accordingly, and they did this even though they feared that the dark cold nights might never end. When spring came, they emerged from their winter cocoons to greet the softly greening Earth, the first buds of plants emerging from the still-cold ground. They gave thanks for the return of light, the return of warmth, the return of the world’s fertility for yet another cycle in the Wheel of Life.
That was then. This is now.
Let’s look at our lives today. In many locations, there is little or no seasonal variation—and as our planet gradually warms, even those variations may be diminishing. For some, spring brings the urge to garden. Summer may mean vacation, sunscreen, and the kids being home from school. Autumn is time to put away the lawn chairs, carve a pumpkin, and exchange shorts for jeans. But many have lost touch with the simple rhythms of Earth and the turning of the seasonal wheel.
We “modern humans” do things when we want and how we want. Technology has allowed us to manipulate the environment so we can continue working, playing, or doing whatever we feel like doing in any month and at any time of the day or night. If we want to work when it’s dark, we turn on lights. We’ve even invented daylight saving time to provide brighter mornings and longer days. If we’re hot in August, we flip on the air conditioning. If we’re cold in January, we crank up the heat. If we’re hungry for raspberries in November, we can buy fresh ones, probably imported from Chile. We indulge in spray-on tans, mimicking summer even when it’s not. Some people are so anxious to avoid winter they bisect their lives, spending the cold half of the year in Florida or taking beach vacations in February. In short, many live their lives based on what they want at the moment and what technology has provided to them, but they seem to have lost awareness of or respect for Earth’s normal cycles. It’s no wonder our internal date books are confused!
Seasonal Affective Disorder occurs when people with normal energy and mood experience low energy,
