Issue # 76 The Misc Adventures Digest
On chasing light
It has been warm and sunny for the last week or so and I can’t begin to tell you how nice it’s been to finally enjoy the things we look forward to when we think of summer.
Up until now it has been a terrible summer. Wet, cold and windy. The rain and cold are hard to deal with, but I realised this week that one of the things I’ve missed the most is the light. The warm golden energy of earth’s closest star and the way it illuminates Nature’s finest work. A spotlight shining on all that is wild and free. I love the way light transforms the mundane into something magical: a slither of golden sunlight tracing the movement of the earth across a bedroom wall; the brow of the fell behind our house highlighted in pink, ripples on the river reflecting sunlight onto overhanging leaves of alders in a mesmerising pattern of motion, and tiny flying insects backlit by a summer’s evening sunset glittering like floating flecks of gold.
As a photographer, light is everything. I am a chaser of light. I’m particularly fond of the contrast between light and shade. A column of light piercing through the darkness of the woodland canopy, lighting up a nodding wood anemone which glows softly like a lantern in the gloom. Edges of rock picked out in sharp relief against the shadows of cold, dark mountain walls, a vision of perfect clarity and depth.
Everything is better when there is light.
It is easier to feel glad in our hearts and minds when the sun breaks through the clouds. But even in dark times we must try to let the light in - to search for tiny cracks through which goodness can penetrate, flooding the recesses of our troubled thoughts with luminosity. Light is hope.
It is not always easy to do. For some reason it takes less effort to dwell in the shadows. It is all too easy to get stuck in a doom loop - the world we have created is frightening place. Inequality and suffering, ecosystem collapse, division and hate. I am prone to bouts of introspection, a touch of wallowing at the unfairness of it all. It would easy to descend into darkness and bitterness.
But what saves me every time is a desire to let light in. To seek it out and banish darkness from within. To stay pure of heart, for I know that if I can do this, I am winning.
Up to a point, we have a choice when it comes to how much we wallow in the darkness - how much media we consume, whether we click on the depressing headlines or doom scroll on our phones. For all the reported horrors, there are a million unreported joys unfolding every minute - beauty and wonder abound in the Natural World, we just have to open our eyes and hearts wide enough to notice.
Well, that’s all for this week. I don’t know about where you are, but the weather has reverted to wet and windy up here in the north - fingers crossed for some warmer days and golden evening light at the weekend.
With warmest wishes,
Andrew, Emma and Benji
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This was a wonderful read and the photos perfectly match your words. I must say the backlit photo of the green leaves and tree branches captures the light remarkably well.
Also, this short paragraph really resonated with me “But what saves me every time is a desire to let light in. To seek it out and banish darkness from within. To stay pure of heart, for I know that if I can do this, I am winning.” This is a beautifully stated thought.
Your photos really reflect the mood and message of your writing Andrew. I agree too that sunlight can change our outlook both physically and mentally. Thank you 🙏
(Love the photos and your observations on the importance of light both physical and metaphorical. Reminded me of a mini revelation I had many years ago. In pursuit of a change of direction I left my steady job with the local authority to pursue a different career. It meant moving my family of wife and three children under five from a house we ‘owned’ in Manchester which we were unable to sell because of negative equity (the bust years of Thatcherism) to Nottingham to study for a degree. Without warning I began to have severe panic attacks plunging me into a dark despair. Obviously the result of such a huge and stressful move. It lasted for almost a year and rather than seeking medication or counselling I made the decision to practice meditation and breath work. It’s a long story. However, one day I was sat cross legged with my back to the wall of a small prayer room at the university. Above me there was a small window and on the opposite wall there was a plain wooden cross. As I stared at the wall suddenly the sun broke through the clouds and brilliant light flooded in through the window. This caused the cross to cast a shadow so black it looked like it had been painted on the wall. In the silence I felt an inner voice say, “The darker the shadow the brighter the light”. I understood then that however dark things can seem there is always light, inextinguishable light. We have to find that light within us and the light in the world around us, so wonderfully captured in your photos, reminds me of that. Thank you - Hadge)