Categories: uncategorized
Date: 05 October 2005 08:01:32
Despite January being the beginning of the year on the calander, for a whole load of us September is the beginning of the year really, (it's when the school year starts and church activities tend to start from - practically rather than litergically). As such when October comes the summer is a distant memory and "the start of a new year" anticipated / dreaded - according to what you think it may yield has been and gone. In October you have entered the mundane reality, likely to be disrupted by only by the increasing demands of Christmas / Yule. Combined with nights drawing in and mornings taking longer to appear it's when even those who don't suffer with SAD tend to get into a rut. Yet I want to argue that whilst not the most exciting period of the year it can be one of the most important.
Think about it:
It is a time when most of our working relationships with others are reinforced, because we spend most time with them at this time of year when, there are less people taking leave in non-accademic jobs, and nobody taking leave in academic jobs.
It is a time when most of our local church relationships (if you go to a place of worship) are reinforced, because (i) everybody tends to be about again after the summer fragmentation, (ii) teams that have been put together for the start of the year are becoming established and everybody is moving from that frantic here we go (again) state to a more stable pattern, where there is the chance for relationships to be deepen and be reinforced.
It is a time in our personal relationships when we have settled into the pattern for the year & know our routines and so are able to work to ensure there is regular quality time, (be that with friends or family) and also as the nights draw in more time is spent indoors, and so (theoretically) you have more time to chat.
Also whilst many changes take place over the late summer months they are planned for well in advance, involving decisions made during this time when it becomes clear what the normality of life is.
What I think I'm trying to say is that what may appear the mundane is actually our "normality". So, if we spend the majority of our time in this "normality" the network of relationships within that "normality", it should be viewed as an important, exciting time; a time of opportunity to deepen long term relationships and invest in what ever we spend the majority of our lives doing, rather than a period of time to become depressed about or simply resigned to.