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©2023 Catherine Haslag, All Rights Reserved.
© Catherine Haslag
© Catherine HaslagConservation Laws
There are many conservation laws that govern how the universe works. I teach two of these laws in my chemistry classes.
The first is the Law of Conservation of Matter, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed. Atoms can rearrange to make new compounds, but the amount of matter you start with will equal the amount of matter you end with.
The second is the Law of Conservation of Energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can convert from one type to another (kinetic energy to potential energy or mechanical energy to electrical energy). Still, the amount of energy you start with will equal the amount of energy you end with.
These laws mean that you can never create more than you started with.
Business pushes the concept “do more with less.” However, since you can’t end with more than you started with based on the Laws of Conservation of Matter and Energy, it is impossible to do more with less.
This example is one of the many reasons a basic understanding of science is essential – it allows you to understand when someone is peddling bullshit, so you know not to buy it.
Attention
Everyone wants your attention.
The junk mail.
The spam texts.
The telemarketers.
The jingles on the radio.
The commercials on TV.
The ads on social media.
The Billboards along the roadside.
The videos blaring at the gas stations.
The sponsored content in online news.
Each one stealing a little from you,
Until you have nothing left to give.
Fall Back
It happened again this November 7. In the wee hours of the morning, the clocks rolled back an hour.
Daylight savings time ended.
This time of year is hard for me. The daylight is already dwindling as the northern hemisphere tilts further from the sun. I live in southern Minnesota. The summer solstice provides us with 15 hours 30 minutes and 9 seconds of daylight. The winter solstice brings a measly 8 hours 59 minutes and 2 seconds of daylight, a 42% decrease. I am writing this on November 7 where we have 10 hours 1 minute and 50 seconds of daylight. Tomorrow, we will have 1 minute 19 seconds less daylight.
The shorter days are hard on me. I try to get more exercise, take vitamin D daily, and spend time outside whenever possible to help combat the shorter amount of daylight. The gut punch each fall comes when we “fall back” by setting our clocks back one hour. There is something about that shift of daylight from being in the evening hours to the morning hours that just knocks it out of me. For me, the extra hour of sleep isn’t worth it. I feel like I spend so much of my time in the dark because the sun sets before 5p now (4:56pm to be precise). The darkness makes is feel so late so early in the evening. I could crawl into bed at 8pm this time of year…and sometimes I do.
So I hunker down, drink more hot tea, find some good books to read, take double the vitamin D, make some hot soup, and wait for March 13, 2022 when we will spring forward and have daylight in the evening again.
References
Sunrise Sunset, (2014-2021). Sunrise Sunset Times in Austin, MN. https://sunrise-sunset.org/
(Yes, I looked up all of those hours of daylight and sunsets.)
Tea Time
A good cup of tea can make all the difference. Something to warm your hands, wet your throat, and soothe your soul.
A cup of tea is a good friend who creates the space you need to care for yourself. The friend who can just be there and require nothing in return. Who keeps your secrets, never judges, and lets you regather yourself on the hard days.
Or who just sits with you in your joy and basks in it.
Life is a Chemical Reaction
Life is a chemical reaction.
Sometimes it is a violent combustion reaction, leaving destruction in its path.
Other times it is a very orderly and predictable reaction that precipitates a beautiful outcome.
In every instance, the limiting reagent is time.