A Thought For the Season: A Good Night's Rest
It is a season to relax. Our bodies, being created properly, tell us this. "Seasonal affective disorder", a form of psychological depression, is, like depression, a natural response to the perceived circumstances. The only "disorder" about it is in our perceptions, which may be based on negative, that is, without faith, thinking. (And, possibly, based on brain chemistry problems, which German science has recently discovered may often be rectified with St. John's wort, an ancient natural remedy, which does not have the sometimes-calamitous side effects of some artificial anti-depressants.)
Depression, then, is a form of hibernation. Seasonal affective disorder is brought on by the short days, which limit our activities under the sun. The blessing of abundant artificial lighting has confused us.
Mature cultures have dealt with the problem with an extended holiday: the Roman Saturnalia, the twelve days of Christmas. But the blessings of the march of modern technology have a collateral blessing: the challenge to use our heads. Things are changing too quickly for cultural adaptation to do its work.
A poet was able to discern the proper response to the long nights. The right greeting for the season: "'Happy Christmas to all, / And to all, a good night.'"
Or, to borrow from another poet, let sleep (and relaxation) knit "the raveled sleeve of care".
Or, the best of all, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31 KJV).
