Inspired by: Excerpt from Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The excerpt lists things there would be “no more” of if electricity ceased to exist, and repeatedly mentions light. Today is the autumnal equinox, the first day of Fall. The days are shortening. This makes me wonder what the world was like before electric light eliminated the dramatic impact earth’s orbit had on the rhythm of life? The available hours of sunlight each day dictated what could be accomplished. Of course candles and firelight provided some illumination, but meeting our basic survival needs required daylight. The extended schedules we are able to keep nowadays have increased productivity, but at what cost to our overall well-being? We are stressed, sleep-deprived and overweight. Don’t kid yourself – these three things are related. If your day started with the sunrise and ended at sunset, nature would provide you with downtime in the evening and encourage you to go to bed once it gets dark. Your hormones, including leptin, insulin, ghrelin and cortisol, would be more balanced, leading to better body composition. (While this isn’t meant to be a “Nutrition” article, click the link for more information https://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/weight_loss/hunger-hormones.htm)
If you could do today over and only had 12 hours and 10 minutes to get stuff done, how would adjust your priorities? What would you be sure to fit into that schedule? In the final two hours before sunset I’m heading home to kiss Pat, cook and eat a macro-friendly dinner, then tidy up the kitchen and hit the hay. My Edison bulbs won’t be doing overtime today.