Light has long been a metaphor for love, healthy living and spirituality. In the last 100 years, psychology, sociology and progressive medicine have that the three essential ingredients to emotional, social and physical wellbeing are: love self, love others and love life.

Frequently the last of those three is not as promoted as the first two. Nonetheless the frequently quoted maxim "seize the day" demonstrates that there is some realisation of the need to embrace life.

Recently, after a talk to a large group of second-level students, a quite unhappy-looking 14-year-old girl approached and asked me: "What is the meaning of life?"

Before I could answer, she said despairingly: "Without meaning there is no reason to go on living." I suspect she had a poor sense of herself and certainly did not feel loved for herself by the significant adults in her life.

However, a public setting was not the place to explore these dark areas of her life. I thanked her for her question and went on to say that I felt there were two aspects to her query - the two ponderables being "what is living all about?" and "is there a deeper purpose to existence?"

As for the former, I told her I felt life was for living and that I hoped she would seize its every precious moment. And for the latter question, I said this was an age-old spiritual quest of human beings and one that could only be answered in her own heart and spirit.

I did add that the more deeply and fully she lived life, the more likely the greater purpose of life would emerge for her.

Finally, with a supportive and affectionate look into her eyes, I expressed my belief that giving and receiving love was the bedrock to loving life and discovering spirituality.

A lot more enthusiasm, excitement, fun and adventure seem to emerge in summertime. After a year's work for adults, and the end of the school year and examinations for students, people are ready to seek out more of the joys of living.

However, the pity is that work and learning have ceased to be fascinating challenges and the "summer break" becomes the oasis in the desert of work and school lives. Kahil Gibran's exclamation that "work (and learning) is love made visible" is much needed to enlighten many home, work and school environments!

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that summer light, long days, warmth, blossomed nature and silver and purple dazzling seas and rivers touch into the light of our being and provide the opportunities to enjoy the endless days of summertime.

I believe it is the metaphorical meaning of light that connects with the spirit of people. It has to be seen too that the brightness of summer does not penetrate those individuals whose hearts and spirits have been darkened by emotional, social, spiritual, educational and political neglect.

There is a theory in psychiatry that the absence of sunlight causes a depressive condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Special lamps that give artificial sunlight have been invented to help individuals who are affected by this problem.

However, with respect to my psychiatric colleagues, I find the whole concept both naive and in no way reflective of the depth, complexity and resourcefulness of human behaviour. There are far more serious reasons why people may become depressed in winter time.

Like light, darkness has long been associated with the absence of light, the loss of love, meaning and spirituality. "The dark night of the soul" is truly representative of this powerful metaphor.

The dark of winter does not create depression, but touches into a darkness of life and spirit that is already within and without. When people experience enduring emotional rejection, it is tantamount to blowing out the light of a candle and plunging them into the blackness of a loveless life.

Furthermore, in the shorter days (light) and longer nights (dark) of winter, the darkness symbol predominates and there is also a lot more time to contemplate your dark state.

I believe those who suffer the depression of SAD are unable to find their inner light and rely on the artificial lights of the outside world. It would be far more helpful for people living in shadow to have the enduring light of support, love, understanding, compassion, patience and nurturance brought to them by those of us who purport to care for their emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.

The more we connect with the light of our own being and living, the more we are in a position to help others to dispel the darkness of anonymity, alienation from others and hate of living.