This week day equalled night.
I see the seasons as sine and cosine waves. Peaks and troughs for different phenomena offset from one another.
At the summer solstice, the hours of day light peak, but the rate of change of day light is zero. Nothing much seems to change.
At this time of year the hours of daylight are only half way between their winter and summer extremes, but the rate of change is at its maximum.
For an instant everything is in balance, when day equals night. But there is no pause. This is also the time of maximum change. We are now moving away from balance at the highest rate of the year.
Close up it is moving rapidly but taking the longview there is dynamic equilibrium.
I find lots I can draw inspiration from in my creative and design work at this time of year.
- Where can I find balance; equal and opposite forces?
- Looking to see where there can be dynamic equilibrium.
- It is a time of building from the foundations quietly set down in the winter.
- I can tune in to the natural world and witness the terrific industry with which it regrows.
And in this time of year I return to the same questions about how work and how we create the buildings and infrastructure that sustain us:
Instead of nine to five (or more!) twelve months a year how can we adjust our working patterns to make the most of the seasons that are happening around us?
How do we change our living and work spaces to adjust to the changing light and heat?
This year I’ve heard several people say, right, I get what we need to do about carbon, but what about the ecological emergency. The answer is less clear as it is not simply about optimising for one variable. I strongly believe we will only start to find the answer if change our relationship to nature. By submitting ourselves to the problem to use the sort of language of philosopher Matthew Crawford.
Submitting ourselves too the seasons – attending to them, adjusting with them – is a great place to start changing our relationship to the ecosystem that supports us.
If you liked this post then here’s some related stuff
More of my posts that mention Matthew Crawford and also posts that mention the ecological crisis.
At Hazel Hill Wood, where I am chair of the Trustees, my ambition is to create a time and a place where people can connect with nature, understand the ecological emergency and what role they can play in overcoming it. Read more of my posts that mention Hazel Hill Wood.
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