An old friend of mine used to say there are two kinds of people in the world: larks and owls. I am definitely a lark and loved the dawn I could see out of my study window as the sun began rising in the early morning, even in late February or early March.
The beginning of “daylight savings time,” as they call it, sets my body back to winter hibernation desire. The morning is dark. I think about kids waiting for school busses in the dark and hope they will be safe as drivers going too fast careen around corners.
Okay, perhaps it began in mid or late April when the sun could lighten the early morning, perhaps then, it would be okay. What do we need it for, anyway, this early in the year, when it is still winter? Physicians and scientists tell us we fare better when our bodies align with natural light. DST is simply not natural; it only satisfies business interests that want us to shop more and more.
Prayer for the Day
Rising in the early morning, the world around us is still dark,
Not by the lack of your light, O God, but by artificial time;
Abruptly we wake, looking at clocks, thinking, “Already?”
As we strive to align our bodies to legislative mandate.
Grant us, O God, the peace of the natural world surrounding us,
And help us adjust to human interference with the world outside.
In the name of the One who rose with the sun,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Morning light is essential for helping to set the body’s natural rhythms: It wakes us up and improves alertness. Morning light also boosts mood – light boxes simulating natural light are prescribed for morning use to treat seasonal affective disorder.
- Beth Ann Malow, neurologist
As society has evolved, lighting accounts for less overall energy consumption. Rather, extending the use of daylight hours encourages people to use more air conditioning and heating.
- Tomas Havrenek, Zuzana Isrova, Int’l. Jour., Energy Economics
And God said, “let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights – the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night – and the stars.
Genesis 1: 14-16.