Blog No 5. Summer is Icumen In Time & Recharging Creativity
Summer is Icumen In
Time & Recharging Creativity
Summer is upon us, bringing with it the much-anticipated opportunity to recharge. For the past half-year, many of us have been overworked, undernourished, overstimulated, and living and working outside the natural hours of daylight. Clearly, we have some serious recharging to do.
As a maker who has worked for over 25 years in a seasonally based design industry, I have always resisted the notion that we can be equally creative amidst this seasonal deficit. While the 'dark half of the year' — truly my favourite time of year — offers emotive narrative and saturated inspiration, I have consistently struggled to align my body clock and motivation levels with the lighter, more optimistic months of summer.
While we remain Earthbound, time is a constant and unchangeable fact of life. Yet, in our current day, it seems that time is travelling forward at a mesmerising pace. I have no idea how we reached the Midsummer Solstice so fast! If we cannot change the stoic nature of the annual cycle, could we perhaps slow down time?
While the objective measurement of time remains constant, our subjective experience of time changes dramatically throughout our lives. This is a trick of the mind, not a change in the fabric of spacetime! However, it often feels like time speeds up as we age, and there are several psychological and physiological reasons that may contribute to this phenomenon:
Proportionality of Time: As each unit of time (a year, a month, or even a day) becomes a smaller fraction of your accumulated life experience, it subjectively feels shorter.
At 5 years old, a year is 20% of a life.
At 50 years old, a year is only 2% of a life
Novelty vs. Routine: Childhood and early adulthood are often filled with new experiences, learning, and milestones (first day of school, graduation, first job, etc.). As we get older, days and weeks tend to blend into familiar patterns, causing them to pass by more quickly in our perception.
Memory and Perception: Our perception of time is heavily influenced by how we form and recall memories. When we have many distinct, memorable events, it feels like more time has passed. In later life, with more routine, there might be fewer unique "markers" in our memory, leading to a feeling that time is flying by.
Biological Clocks and Metabolism: (Less direct, but contributing) While not about time "speeding up," some theories suggest that our internal biological clocks might slow down slightly with age, or that our metabolism plays a subtle role in our perception of time. However, this is more speculative and less impactful than the psychological factors.
Focus on the Future vs. the Present: Children often live very much in the present moment, experiencing each day as it comes. Adults, however, might spend more time planning for the future or reflecting on the past, which can make the present moment seem to rush by.
Though these offer some rational explanations for how we come to terms with the passage of time, it is not particularly satisfying. I personally need a more 'natural' approach to work with if I am to gain control of our personal relationship with time.
You may recall my passions lie more in the life lessons and practices learned from those who came before us. I find solace and guidance from the knowledge gained by past cultures, handed down through generations by word of mouth, folklore, fables, customs, and practical knowledge. This wisdom, passed down like muscle memory, is inherited, much like newborn creatures instinctively know what dangers to avoid and how to survive in a world that, though vastly different to our own, has at its core not changed for thousands of years.
Creativity and survival are both inextricably linked. This is beautifully illustrated by observing the slow movements of nature – from the shifting seasons in your garden to the phases of the moon, or the meanings of trees as observed by the 13 seasons of the 'Ogham Tree Calendar,' or even the meditation of stillness and being alone, as beautifully depicted by Henry David Thoreau in Walden; or, Life in the Woods.
The Ogham Tree Calendar
OAK Moon: June 10 - July 7th
The Oak King rules over the summer months, sacred to the Druids. The Celts called this month Duir, which some scholars believe to mean "door", the root word of "Druid."
Falls during a time when the trees full bloom stages. The mighty Oak is strong, powerful, and typically towering over all of its neighbors.
Carry an acorn in your pocket it will bring you good luck.
If you catch a falling Oak leaf before it hits the ground, you'll stay healthy the following year
It's important to remember that while this calendar is widely used and offers a beautiful way to connect with nature and cycles, it is a modern construct rather than a historically verifiable ancient Celtic calendar.
popularised by Robert Graves in
"The White Goddess," published 1948
