I obviously *don't* own the graphic...but it was appropriate...so HT to Google for that one.

At dinner earlier, the discussion turned to the seasons and which was our favourite. I spent the entire time in thought about it rather than blabbering about it, and came up with some interesting insights. Well, I find it interesting at least.

First off, might I just say that my absolute favourite time of year is Autumn. I love that the temperature drops from the oppressive heat of Summer to pleasantly cool, breezy days. I love the bright reds and golds that spring forth from the trees and cover the ground. I love the sound of the fallen leaves crunching underfoot. I am such a bleedin' writer. I love the enticement of hot cider and caramel machiatto and apple orchards and pumpkin pie. Autumn is a beautiful time to be alive. A combination of all these things manages to keep me at peace with myself and the world, even when I am depressed or in one of my bizarre funks. The breeze plays in my hair and spreads the scent of dried leaves and the pleasant smoky-smell from chimneys. It's my favourite time to be outside and actually enjoy nature.

That being said, the conversation of the table also brought up what I enjoy of the other seasons. I think Winter has its charms, in the soft hush that newfallen snow creates. Everything looks like it's been dipped in powdered sugar on many mornings, even if the dusting is gone within a few hours - it was beautiful while it lasted. The icicles that form as the season goes somehow look elegant, even against a backdrop of telephone poles and wires. Walking through the crisp snow at night as it's falling is incredible, between the hush and the sense of contentment that while quiet is almost tangible. Winter does strange things to people, putting them in the giving mood and encouraging them to spend time with those they may not normally do. Spring is also a beautiful time of year, with its lush greens and bright colours of reborn flowers gracing the earth once more with their presence. The air is becoming more mild and enjoyable, and a fifty degree day is an occasion to break out the shorts once more. Everything is alive, and everything is visible after months under cover of snow. The trees and flowers don't merely bloom; they bud, bringing hope of things to come and the first tantalising smell that isn't manmade. It's a feeling and a smell man simply cannot recreate, no matter how many candles are sold. Summer is also a season of smells, of fires of a different variety and freshly mown grass, of grills and chlorine. It is the season of vacation, as all children and teenagers are on summer holiday and many adults take off work to go on road trips with friends and family. It is the season of celebrations and fireworks and parades. It is the season of simply getting away from the insanity of life and creating your own insanity. Even the heat of Summer requires creative measures; sprinklers are set out both to water the grass and cool the humans, rain dancers appear from seemingly nowhere at the first peal of thunder, children become bikers to rival those in the Tour de France. It changes people.

After some breakdown of why the seasons were so loved, the table topic turned to the order of the seasons. If you could change it, would you?

Short form of my answer? No.

Taking aside the biological and scientific reasons and purposes to the order being as it is, for me personally, and I'm sure others as well, the rotations of Spring to Summer to Autumn to Winter and back again are well suited to both my general temperament and my battle against depression. In its simplest form, Spring is rebirth after the death of Winter, Summer is the life of those born in Spring, Autumn is the last years of the life of Summer, Winter is the ultimate end of the joys of Autumn, Spring is rebirth...a never-ending cycle, which, regardless of how dead everything becomes, it gets better. Though life ends in death, in the seasons, nothing truly ends. Winter begins for me as pleasant, different. Colour is washed out of the landscape in favour of bright whites and blues and an entirely new world is created. The world becomes a darker place as the days draw in and nights grow in length. As a depressive, no matter how I try to deny it, darkness increases the depths of depression. After a few months of Winter, that depression can grow very deep indeed. Then, however, Spring begins to burst forth and break the cold, dark spell Winter had become. Life is rejuvenated as the plants and animals who hibernated through reawaken and stir again. Warmth begins to spread and thaw the world out, and the days embrace this and begin to grow long again. The new-found light helps pull me out of the depths, and I begin to thaw as well. The days become more active as Spring fades into Summer and there are tasks to be accomplished outside that have been neglected in the cold, dank months. All is well in the land, until the heat begins to affect moods, and peace is hard to come by once August finally rolls around. The heat and tempers flare, and the hole is slowly opened up again to swallow up those who aren't careful where or how they tread. Then Autumn begins a new approach, with days becoming shorter and as the air cools to temperatures more easily lived with, so do tempers, and peace is quickly made both with one's self and with others. As Autumn continues its march, which inevitably leads to Winter, the days grow short again, and though the light does not last as long, the atmosphere and the bright colours of the trees give the light an ability to permeate like no other season. This light fills everyone, regardless of whether they choose to admit it, allowing a sense of peace as well as a proper peace among people. The coolness of the season allows me to keep my head more readily, and is there to pull me out of Summer's void. Without fail, however, the temperature continues dropping, and Winter makes its move to hold the world in its freezing grip once more. The days continue to shorten, and even before the last vestiges of Autumn can have their say, snow begins to fall, enforcing in the minds and hearts that Winter has fully arrived, and the world has come full circle.

Amazing how much soul-searching can go into a simple, five-minute period, ne?