Sunday, November 4, 2012

Darkness Saving Time

R.a.n.t. of week 11/04/12
"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." - Benjamin Franklin

Was Franklin advocating Daylight Savings Time? Was his quote intended to praise an early morning sunrise? Actually no, so he's spared my wrath. How do I know this? Well research for one, but I've also picked apart his quote. To do this, I had to look at what he DIDN'T say. Notice he didn't say 'early to bed and late to rise', this would be an indication of someone depressed rather than wise. How about, 'late to bed and early to rise'? This could indicate a person not rested, consumed in too many projects, thus resulting in making poor decisions. Hardly a wise person. Also his quote is sound because getting adequate sleep does indeed make a person healthy. At least it makes for a healthier person than one who never allows his body to fully recharge. As for the wealthy bit, I guess that remains to be seen. I'll let you know after I make my first million. I wonder if Trump is an 'early to bed, early to rise' person.

So rising early isn't something I'm opposed to. But note, it doesn't mean I need sunlight first thing in the morning. No, neither does it mean I need the sun to help wake me up. That's what my alarm clock is for. If I needed to employ the use of the sun in my time keeping, I'd own a sundial.  My main problem (or rant) is never having enough light in the evening. In the winter months, I end my secular days and it's already dark. When this phenomenon happens, I rarely have the ambition to work on projects once I get home. When DST ends, the feeling is intensified, thus my rant. This causes me to start squandering time. Why? Because it's hard to motivate myself when the evening dark makes my body want to be 'early to bed'. With this squandered time, who can truly feel they made the most out of life? Wait, why did that sound so familiar?

"...do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of." - Benjamin Franklin

Ahhh, that's why. Well played Benny.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds to me that you may be subject to Light Affected Disorder...
    As one who is late to bed and early to rise (and, yes, have plenty of projects that demand my attention), I have rarely found the waning of the sun to have much affect (or effect) upon my performance...

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  2. It's very possible. My sister is affected by s.a.d. I don't mind dark after a certain time, but before I even get home is unacceptable in my book. If that makes sense.

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