The Strange Practice of Daylight Saving Time
Those of us living in the U.S. (excepting Arizona and Hawaii) have lost an hour this morning thanks to Daylight Saving Time (DST). The reasons for changing the time seem a little fuzzy to me. Originally (1918) the goal seemed to be about saving energy, but research shows this hasn’t happened. And apparently the idea that farmers lobbied for this, something I was told as a child, is a myth. Farmers actually lobbied against DST.(1) There is also the thinking that people who have more daylight hours after a traditional work day will spend more money (ah – capitalism).
While most of us appreciate more daylight in the evening, moving hours around two times a year is a health and safety hazard. It wreaks havoc with sleep and circadian rhythms making people tired and distracted. Heart attacks and traffic accidents both increase the week following the time change. Distracted and tired people also apparently are not good workers. Productivity the week after a time change drops significantly. (2)
Things No Longer Serving Us
Whether DST was ever a good idea or just promoted as one, it doesn’t seem to be serving us right now. Yet humans have a way of just staying the course even when it is doesn’t make much sense. We continue to do something even if detrimental for a long long time before, or if ever, enacting change. It might feel too difficult or too complicated to change. But sometimes the only reason is, “We’ve done it this way for a long time and we’ll just continue.”
So Daylight Saving Time has inspired my mindful focus for the week: identifying our own personal DST practices. What in our lives felt like a good idea at the beginning and either never panned out or has outgrown its usefulness? What is no longer serving us? All kinds of things fall into this category, the big (staying in unproductive work settings or unfulfilling relationships) and the small (the garden configuration where we are always tripping over hoses or the spice cabinet where things fall out when we open the door).
We can turn our attention this week to what in our lives is no longer working. We might choose to take action or not, but the first step is to simply bring those things into our conscious awareness. I always find writing helpful with this type of activity. Taking a blank sheet of paper and writing at the top, “What is No Longer Serving Me?”, and then putting pen to paper and see what starts to flow.
For more information on Mindfulness Focus Words click here.
