At the Beginning of Every Sun Season
Today, for the first time, I felt the warmth of the sun on my face. The sunlight in the field next to our house and on our front balcony was too good not to take a picture of. The sun was so bright that I had to squint to look in its direction. My skin tingled in the warmth and, unexpectedly, I felt relieved.
I haven’t had much time to think about the darkness this season. I’ve kept myself busy and so haven’t felt the pangs for sunlight. But even though my mind didn’t need the sun, my body was missing it very much. I haven’t been able to escape the dark insomnia. When the twilight comes about 11am, that is when my body wants to wake up. It is very hard to function before that. The darkness makes it hard for my body to know when to go to sleep. I become tired enough about two or three in the morning. But to try and get on a good sleeping schedule, just like curing yourself from jet-lag, every morning I drag myself out of bed about 7am. This is a never ending battle for two sunless months. Going to bed really late then waking up early to try and correct your insomnia. But it never gets corrected until the sun returns and the days become normal again, for a little while.
But there is also another part of me that always gets affected during the dark season – my being. As the dark season progresses I feel more emotionally drained. I find that when I cut myself off from listening to my being, my inner voice, the darkness can go by easier. This year I have been able to put my being aside to keep living in the dark season. Today when the sun shone on my face there was an awakening and I felt very emotional. I had finally endured the dark season, a big weight had been lifted, and I was finally free to move on.
The Sun Season is framed by the Dark Season each year like it is a piece of time encapsulated. So each Sun Season is a unique little bubble that doesn’t drift into the next season. It is unattached. Each year is different and time remembered is always in the light or in the dark.
I don’t know what this Sun Season will bring. Sometimes it is painfully cloudy and you just have to sigh and say to yourself ‘there is always next Sun Season’. Other times the sun is so bright and warm it makes you think of the Dark Season. The beginning of the Sun Season always brings new hope for the future and how great your life will be. Here I am writing to you very excited about what the sun may bring.
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It’s always fun to take kids to the beach.
The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line.
The sun never goes down during this season but the mountains to the East are so high that the sun still has to raise above them in the morning hours and an artificial dawn-effect wakes the city.
Norwegian dogs were born with a purpose. They were bred to be hunting dogs, herding dogs and farm dogs.
Even though the males are called bulls and the females cows, the muskoxen are more closely related to sheep than cattle. Make no mistake, though – this is not your average cuddly ba-ba-blacksheep! A grown animal can be 2,5 m long and weigh up to 400 kgs, and their long curved horns mean business.
There is an opposition in everything. At the darkest time of the year, we celebrate Christmas. And at the exact opposite end, when the midnight sun is at its highest, we celebrate Midsummer.
Hi! I was so taken by what you’ve written. You’re so good with words and weaving them into something that must come really from the heart. I wish I could do something like that. I really love to write especially when I’m alone…but I’m not so confident with my English. I used to write scripts for our play in high school, I’ve also starred and directed some of them but they are in our native language (Filipino). I don’t do that anymore. I’m on a very different path now that is Medicine. I wish I could write or do something one day that could that would really show what is inside my heart. God bless L-Jay!
I remember absolutely loving Morketid.
I know it’s dark and hard to be normal, but without school age children I don’t think that would be a problem.
But for me I just loved the Northern Lights. They are so amazing they counteract the lack of sunlight for me emotionally.
Hi,
This may seem like a silly question but do you have to take supplements in Norway cos you go for a long time without the sun’s warmth?
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from L-Jay:
It is common for Norwegians to take a swig of fish oil every day – it’s their happy-juice.
There are several aspects of our lives that are tied to natural phenomena, such as the seasons. This aspect of seasonality affects our state of mind, some people experience changes in appetite, sleep and mood.
Brazil is a tropical country but i live in the southern (near Argentina and Uruguay) and here we have the coldest winter for Brazilian standards. I need more spicy food and like staying in bed sleeping much longer and when the days are cloudy have a tendency to think and remember sad things and sometimes tears may come very easily in my eyes but I especially like this time of year to contact old and distant friends, read poetry and listen to honeyed songs . Everything that relates to my inner self is very welcome.
This kind of winter depression is more common in women than in men (1 to 4). There are changes in serotonin production and an increased production of melatonin causes tiredness and decreased energy.
Last year we moved to another house because the rooms for social interaction were all downstairs where there was virtually no windows to the outside and the house was very dark and have the necessary let lights on all day. Only the rooms were light and airy but we were going there just to sleep (obviously at night). I was suffering from severe depression to the point where I do not have the energy to jump out of bed for, I just cried all day, feeling very scared as if a disaster were to hit me anytime. It was no longer able even to cook for my husband and son. Well, the thing seemed so serious that one day my friend came to my house to cook for us and my husband cried because he thought I would end up dying. Fortunately the house where we lived was sold and we moved to an old house, not pretty but airy and with many windows. I refused to believe my disturbance was related to lack of sunshine but just months in the new house and the miracle happened. I am not depressed anymore nor need take Antidepressant how I was doing for two long years.
Believe me, I understand very well what is being affected by darkness.
My friends know that I am fascinated by Norway but they often say that if one day I became an expatriate Norway is off the list