Autumn of discontent

Autumn has arrived with rains, cold air and grey to black skies. All at once the joys of summer with its long bright days, lazy strolls along the waters and landscapes of green trees and flowers are fading into a shadow of depressed moments as we stare at darkness and the embrace of long cold nights. Unto each heart comes an inner sorrow over something lost.

Why do we feel sad that autumn has arrived and that soon it will give way to winter? What's in the change of season that makes us reflect at our own lives. We fall in love during spring, not necessarily with a person in particular, but with the idea of simply falling in love with love. And if it so happens that there is an object of affection, why is the thrill so much greater in springtime than in autumn or winter? Do people fall in love in autumn or fall out of love. Does a depressed heart respond to love's calling?

It is a paradox why during autumn we spend time to reflect on our emotions and relationships we have. We rationalise our spring fever. What was it that made us fall in love with a particular person. What was the attraction. Is it strong enough to withstand the autumns and winters of life? Can two people suffering from autumn blues comfort each each other?

Autumn is not just a matter of weather change. The larger world is not encouraging at all with political and economic issues that hit individuals in different ways. People lose jobs because the industries and companies cut budgets to insure greater year-end profit. Is recession making a bigger bite at corporate profit and therefore many must lose their jobs. The bigger the company, the greater the danger of cutting down on manpower. And who are the most affected? Not the management people. Just the workers.

And when the most respected of Swedish authorities make a muddle of its own statistical calculations that affect every person's well-being, it is not surprising that depression becomes a disease instead of just a temporary feeling. What relationships can withstand the onslaught of economic problems brought about by sudden unemployment? Where can we find joy when we come home from work tired and stressed and there is no one there to ease the worries of the day. It is just evenings of deafening stillness, like the the sepulchral silence of the cemetery. And autumn of discontent made unbearable by the infinite distance between night and day.