For this week’s Mental Sunshine I want to talk to you about contrast.
I’m sure that if I asked you, you’d be sure that you want a happy life, free from any issues
But we actually need some sad times in order to appreciate the good in our lives.
If nothing “bad” had ever happened to us, would we really appreciate the good?
If you want proof of this, just look out of the window.
What’s the weather doing today?
It’s been fairly wet, cold and miserable around here lately.
I’d absolutely love a day of beautiful, warm sunshine.
But last summer, when we’d had weeks of uninterrupted heat and we were all exhausted and sweaty and fed up… how much did we appreciate the sunshine then?
I’m sure we all would have appreciated a drop in temperature and a bit of a rain shower!
Obviously, as a photographer, I think of this in visual terms.
In his book The Life Impossible, Matt Haig references a famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci: Saint John the Baptist
His character talks about how the painting of Saint John is made all the more special by the fact he appears to be in the dark, with light only on him.
Google that picture now – and try to imagine how he would look with a plain white background… it’s just not the same, is it?
Sometimes we need the darkness, in order to appreciate the light.
I’m not saying we should all go out looking for some pain and suffering – There’s far too much of that already going on in the world right now
But instead of trying to eliminate or fight against our suffering…
Instead of resisting our way through a bad day…
Why not try to reframe it – this is just the darkness that helps me to appreciate the light.
I would rather it wasn’t raining cats and dogs every time I step out of my house… but how glorious will a fine summer’s day feel when it arrives!
I don’t enjoy queuing for twenty minutes whenever I visit the post office… but on the rare occasion I arrive and there’s no queue – I feel like I’ve won the lottery!
How can you appreciate the contrast in your life this week?