Watching the mist settle in the lush foliage surrounding me, my thoughts drift off to rainy days in Seattle. I have found myself comparing the areas quite often and in this case it simply involves rain and the outlook of it from the different cultures. Even the rhythm in which the rain falls seems different here than in Seattle. It varies between a thick and heavy rain that falls fast and hard, to a soft and slow mist that almost just sits in the grey. It has spunk in the way it splats onto thatched roofs whereas Seattle rain seems to hit the cement hyped up on as much caffeine as the population around it. This rain reminds me of Midwest rain and sliding across wide lawns in Southern Minnesota.
The people even react differently to this rain as it seems to be such an integral part of their culture; partially because “the rainy season” makes up half of their year. The farmers rest with the assurance that their crops will not wither in the coming months. The children attempt playing in puddles that happen to sit in the middle of the road, but are quickly dragged away by frustrated mothers. The younger ones take off all their clothes and lay in the muck outside. Others take advantage of the free and CLEAN shower that does not require a small bucket to splash water across ones back.
Many people consider Seattle rain to be quite dreary however; I disagree and love to curl up with a book and coffee on rainy days. Statistics seem to place blame on Seattle’s rain for high suicide rates and many theorists exhaust the lists of effects brought on by this grey weather. Some people believe in Seasonal Depression and purchase UV lights to remain content, even happy sometimes, during the grey stretches of the year. I don’t mean to offend anyone with my musings on this topic but it has been bouncing around my mind all day. I have settled on a few ideas behind Seasonal Depression that are much more complex than simply lacking the sunlight. Some of them warrant further discussion at a later date but until then let your mind wonder and begin its own discussions.
First of all, this modern world has removed people from most cultural and religious traditions and connections between people, their senses, and most natural elements. Sadly this has left many people even more fragile and suspicious of change. This presents an odd paradigm though because a lot of people crave change and intentionally create new experiences, events and tasks in life. Yet at the same time, if an unexpected change occurs they are shocked and lose stability for a few moments. This could be one cause leading into Seasonal Depression; the drastic changes proving no option for human control. Another aspect of this cause could be the lack f stability and control in their daily lives before adding weather to the equation.
Also, the majority of people affected by Seasonal Depression lead semi- to very detached lives. Social involvement increases a person’s dopamine production therefore increasing their potentially happy attitude. When this is not occurring a UV light can provide an extra amount of Vitamin E to boosts their mood and make up for the loss of dopamine. The same situation is possible when a person experiences a lack of Vitamin B-12 in their diet, their mood decreases quickly. If they are exposed to sunlight or electronically created UV rays they can remain stable enough without B-12 until it is available.
One worry brought to mind by this notion of Seasonal Depression is that these people do not understand how to gain a true and constant happiness. They are seeking satisfaction that will only be temporary through false sunlight but, they would not require any UV rays to benefit their mood if they knew the real truth behind happiness. Granted this requires further discussion; since each person holds their own personal truth and must discover what that is.
The modern world has conjured up many replacements for this attainable truth because many lack trust in things that are physically present so it is even harder to open up to an “invisible force”. Many in the modern world dismiss this notion of believing and having faith in something unworldly as lunacy. However, isn’t getting happiness from a lamp just as crazy?
