Evening is the name we give to a time of day, but it’s also a description of how we feel during that time.
As the day moves forward, we become increasingly unevened. We push our minds and bodies to accomplish tasks that help us maintain our positions and connections in the complex social networks we depend upon. We lean into our work, straining from the imbalance of the effort until we become sore, stiff, and stressed.
The people and social structures we encounter during the day require us to compromise the shape of our selves. We twist and stretch. We buckle and bend.
The evening is the time when the resulting rough and rumpled feeling is soothed and smoothed. We retreat to our own private spaces, spend a bit of time in activities devoted to our own desires. Our tense muscles relax, and the creases in our careworn faces soften. We feel a sense of evening in our minds and bodies until finally, we fall into sleep, the ultimate restorative.
Then, the next day, we begin the cycle all over again.
