Uses for Daylight

We are about to collectively agree to rearrange the day so that there is more light in the evening. It will be darker in the morning briefly, but in return we’ll enjoy evenings long enough to eat dinner outdoors on nice days in the spring, summer, and into the fall. I tend to break the year into two parts: spring forward to Labor Day and then the other way around. What we call Standard Time fits neatly into the second half.

The day is still 24 hours long, and our choices are the same for how to schedule our lives. We can go to bed when it’s still light in the sky if we like, and rise when it’s dark. That’s what I began doing in January, getting up quite early, which has been my preference all my life, but not something I’ve been able to do on my own for about 20 years. I depend on people to help me get up and to go to bed. But a friend of one of my caregivers introduced me to a person who does that kind of work and who is a natural early bird. We worked out a schedule, and I am very happy with the new arrangement. I sleep shorter nights (and take some unscheduled naps!), but I feel much more engaged with my life.

It may not be an accident that there hasn’t been a new blog entry (or a newsletter) during that time. But I am feeling back on the case, with new energy.

That said, I would greatly appreciate some blog entries from other members. How is dharma working in your life, and what does it mean to you? Some of what I have been doing in these early mornings is write. I find it clarifying for my mind, and a good accompaniment to my meditation practice. Shambhala Online has been offering Dharma and Writing classes. They were recently soliciting applications for new blog writers. I’m doing other writing, so I didn’t offer myself for that consideration — maybe next time around!

Starting now, the days will be longer, how will you spend your daylight hours?