I may put on a brave and happy face during the month of January but trust me when I tell you I REALLY need light to lift me out of the mild depression that comes with Seasonal Affective Disorder, aka SAD.
Most of us living in North America are under an arctic weather warning this weekend. More snow, cold temps, and little sunlight! Considering we have had snow on the ground since early November (!), I think I’m over winter. But the blanket of snow creates a brightness that I never had when living in Northern California for 40 years.
Tule fog for most of January and February made everything look gray, and not in a misty, ethereal way.
Seeking Light in Water and Sunrises
While living in Sacramento, we typically spent the holidays in San Diego where most of our family lives. But in 2020, several families moved to Arizona probably seeking a different lifestyle. Seeking light was easier there.
From San Diego, we would travel after Christmas to La Ventana, Mexico (Baja) to enjoy light, 7am sunrises, warm air, and board sports.
Though we inevitably came back home to gray foggy weather, the trips buoyed our spirits to push us through to spring sunshine.
Seeking Mountain Light
There is nothing quite like mountain sunshine and light. Even in my own neighborhood surrounded by mountains, the light is special.
Not only is alpenglow an amazing phenomenon, but John Muir described the Sierra Nevada Range as “The range of light.”
“Then it seemed to me that the Sierra should be called, not the Nevada or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light. And after ten years of wandering and wondering in the heart of it, rejoicing in its glorious floods of light, the white beams of the morning streaming through the passes, the noonday radiance on the crystal rocks, the flush of the alpenglow, and the irised spray of countless waterfalls, it still seems above all others the Range of Light.” — John Muir, from The Yosemite (1912)
Sometimes an outdoor fire in the firepit is enough to light the night!
Found! A Sun Lamp to Light My World
For now, I use my new sun lamp in the mornings to help reset my melatonin and serotonin levels that help combat Seasonal Affective Disorder.
What’s Been On Your Calendar?
What’s Been On Your Calendar is a new feature hosted monthly by Donna, Sue, Deb, and Tracy. I still ask myself, how am I so busy living a retired life? During the month of January, we mostly stayed home, working on interior projects and enjoying our winter wonderland.
How do I seek light in these activities?
Now that I am a part-time reporter, writing two articles each month gives me a purposeful writing focus, quite different from my blog. My most recent article was about SAD (as I mentioned earlier). I did more research on this common condition that affects millions of people in the US, including myself.
Coincidentally, our Pastor began a Mental Health series on depression which also addressed SAD as a cause of depression, as well as depression’s cousins, anxiety and worry. I used his messages as a source for my article as well as Blogger Sue Loncaric’s excellent post about “Worry.”
As for what’s been on my calendar, I walk or work out, as well as take my Duolingo lessons in German every day. Every Tuesday morning, we meet with our neighborhood’s weekly bible study group (sponsored by our church). Last Friday night I went line dancing with my neighbor—hadn’t done that in 40 years! Just this week, we went to my great-nephew’s high school wrestling match at the local high school in Nine Mile.
I also celebrate both of my daughters’ birthdays near the end of January. My daughters have brought me nothing but light these 30+ years!
Although I have a few wall calendars in key spots around the house, I really use and rely on my Outlook calendar to log my activities. Have you ever looked back at the previous year to remember a particular activity you might have done?
Three years ago, January 31 (2020 BC), marked the real beginning of our move north. I look back on that day with fondness because, on that date, I discovered the area that would later become our new property a few months later.
Looking back, I was struck by how little snow there was in the image on the left for the end of January 2020. Completely different in 2021-2023!
“You can’t see the future coming — not the terrors, for sure, but you also can’t see the wonders that are coming, the moments of light-soaked joy that await each of us.” — John Green
My Weekly Inspiration in Photo Challenges
Each week I am inspired by my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.
- Hammads’s Weekend Sky
- Johnbo’s CellPic Sunday
- Lens-Artists: Messages
- Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes: Enveloped
- What’s Been On Your Calendar–new monthly feature
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
- I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.
This Week’s Featured Bloggers
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their photos of LIGHT. I add these all week as new links are posted.
- YOUR BLOG’S NAME HERE!
- Beachwalk Reflections
- Between the Lines
- Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
- Cee’s Photo Challenges
- The Day After
- Deb’s World
- Denyse Whelan Blogs
- Flights of the Soul
- Frost on the Moose Dung
- Graham’s Island
- Hugh’s Views and News
- Lady Lee Manila
- Light Words
- Loving Life
- Musin’ With Susan
- Now At Home
- Photos By Jez
- Picture Retirement
- Pilgrimage Studio
- Quaint Revival
- Stevie Turner
- This is Another Story
- Travel with Me
- Woolly Muses
- Working on Exploring
Themes for February are ready to view on my Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Page. Join me next week as we look at things that are frosty!
What images can you share that demonstrate LIGHT? Poems, stories, music, and other creative ideas are always welcomed!
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