Solstice Living
Why the modern man should embrace rhythmic living
Author’s note: Yes, this winter-solstice newsletter is going out after the solstice. But not completely after - according to the Met Office here in the UK, the moment of solstice actually fell in the wee hours of Friday morning. Do with that fact what you may.
The average guy’s modern lifestyle just murders any sense of rhythm or seasonal change. Getting dark outside? You probably don’t notice - you just hit the light switch. Seasons change? Well, the holidays change - the shift from Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year probably seems far more significant than any autumnal-winter shift.
There’s a real risk of us becoming majorly disconnected from a more seasonal routine. Consider this a call to live more seasonally and more rhythmically; you’ll feel more grounded as a result.
I’m not a Luddite. The vast majority of my writing is done online, I work online - I’m perilously close to being a member of the "always online” demographic. I have no desire to go back to an era in which, instead of wondering where my next gig was coming from, I was wondering where my next meal would could from.
But while there’s no comparison between those two dilemmas, and anyone who pretends otherwise lacks perspective, I do appreciate the potential simplicity of an earlier lifestyle. Beyond that, I’m concerned that some of the disconnect many modern men experience comes from a disconnect with those natural rhythms; we ignore them and suppress them at our own peril.
Cycles of life - not just a “female” problem
I’m willing to bet that most men consider any sort of ebb and flow of lifestyle and emotions as a particularly (perhaps exclusively!) female problem. After all, there’s that whole “cycle” thing that women go through, it obviously affects them, weaker vessel, etc., etc. Certainly not a man’s problem!
And yet, men have always been rhythmic. Please note - I’m not arguing that women aren’t, just that both genders have always been seasonal in different ways.
Hunters, for example are very cyclical. Seasons change, and game animals change patterns of behaviour. Red deer here in Scotland move from the open hills to the sheltered glens, while apex predators often rest (grizzly bear in the American West, for instance).
Farming - biblically, a province of men - is of course perhaps the epitome of seasonal. “Summer and winter, springtime and harvest,” as the old hymn goes. The rhythms of planting, tending, and harvesting are fundamental to many culture’s entire traditions.
Or at least, they were.
Anti-rhythms of life
It’s not so much that any one cultural aspect of our modern lives actually intends to destroy those old rhythms; it’s just that it is so easy for us to completely ignore all those all patterns.
Farming? Hey, most men aren’t farmers. White-collar and skilled workers - even manual trades, like plumbing and electrical - aren’t bound by natural rhythms. Ask most tradies, and they might actually point out that if something breaks, it tends to break at night, disrupting the most basic cycle of all. Certainly, the work patterns of most tradesmen don’t conform to seasonal patterns.
Hunting? Stalking or hunting for sport or supplemental food might still be very seasonal, but it’s hardly a core part of the modern male experience.
Even on a daily basis, men aren’t bound by natural rhythms anymore. I can fire up a video game and play all night long, indulging in a pastime entirely unnatural, and do so in both winter and summer, regardless of whether there’s 17 or 7 hours of sunlight.
State of mind
My own experience has been that I ignore those natural rhythms at my own risk. Late-night gaming binges seem great, but the sheer time lost and the havoc that plays on daily schedules is real.
That brings me to the heart of this post.
Natural Highs and Lows
Permit me a small rant; in our quest for perfect year-round efficiency, we’ve sought to reduce or destroy seasonal variations. My daily routine is the same January 15th as June 15th, and any variation is coincidental.
That sounds ideal, but brings some real challenges.
Unless you’re living on the equator, natural rhythms matter, for at least three reasons:
Natural rhythms are God-given. We get that straight from the Creation story and the Bible, but one need look no further than the numerous (countless?) pagan rituals that follow the seasonal markers - solstice and equinox celebrations abound in Britain and Europe and beyond. I don’t believe that there’s anything mystical about the solstice, at least not any more than there’s something mystical about fall or spring.
Our bodies are rhythmic. Men are no exception to this. Absent a dramatic fertility cycle, we still experience the change of the seasons, the changes from childhood-adolescence-adulthood, and the advance of age.
Moods and emotions are tied to those changes. I’ve been (officially) in ministry long enough now to realise there’s a reason there are more funerals in the winter months. Beyond the morbid, I see seasonal changes in myself and my children, with a tendency to want to sleep longer and rise with the sun in the winter, and the inclination to try to ignore the need for sleep at all on long, summer days.
I wonder how many mental health problems, for men and women alike, would be diminished if we forced ourselves to live more rhythmically.
In the meantime, embrace those highs and lows. Don’t be shocked when depression raises its head in winter, though I recommend a dose of melancholy instead. A bit of seasonal variation in mood isn’t a bad thing, so long as you can find a way to deal with it.
And there are ways, of course. Take bodybuilding - there’s a reason a search for “winter bulk bodybuilding” returns tons of hits. Lots of gym rats turn into the wind, using the holiday feasting schedule as a way to fuel big gains in the gym.
A small example, to be sure - but one way men have managed the darker times.
Embrace the solstice
The solstice falls a few short days before the most rhythmic, most ritualistic, and most seasonal (perhaps) of all of our holidays - Christmas. For many Christians, it’s the heart of the church calendar. And between Christmas and Advent, the runup to Christmas, you have the perfect chance to practice seasonal living.
I observe advent, counting down the days slowly to mark the Incarnation of Christ. And in the meantime, I observe (more analytically) the solstice. I look forward to the shift, however subtle, when the days will slowly grow longer, and things will be ever-so-slightly brighter.
Now excuse me, I’m off to the gym.
Action Points
Winter is great for stargazing. Grab an app and your smartphone and hit the skies. Bonus points if you’ve got kids - you can literally expand their horizons.
Physical activity is crucial. Sit around the house all winter, and I guarantee you will NOT feel great. So start bulking in the gym, take up a winter sport, or even practice some long winter walks.
Observe both the church and meteorological calendars. They move in conjunction, but not in tandem, and keeping one eye on each will help keep you grounded. Plus you’ll learn more!