Considering Desire

"Desire" often conjures up images of unnatural consumerism and immediate gratification. The reading about "ecocentric" desire and ideas of "tropism" got me thinking about the natural rhythms of desire. My meandering research eventually led me to look at how individuals respond to seasonal changes. Out in nature, birds sense that the seasons are changing and they migrate each winter to warmer climates. The shortening days and changing weather of wintertime in the northern hemisphere also affect people, even though we try to maintain a "linear" lifestyle with electric lights and air-conditioning. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) occurs when people develop depression symptoms (hopelessness, anxiety, social withdrawal) in response to the change in seasons. The lack of light (an unfulfilled need) might not be the only cause -- some people exhibit summer SAD, in which high levels of heat and humidity seem to spur depressive or anxious states. People with SAD exhibit an aversion to either winter or summer, depending on when they suffer from symptoms of depression. This facet of desire/aversion is not so much about an overt want, but more about an intuitive sense that an individual self is better suited (desires) a particular season, and finds the opposing season distasteful (aversion).