Chiaroscuro
From the Italian for “light” (chiaro) and “dark” (oscuro)
Recently a friend and I visited the Courtauld gallery in London to see the Seurat and the Sea exhibition. Georges Seurat and Paul Signat spearheaded Pointillism, a way of working using small dots of colour. It is the most fantastic thing to see, as your eyes blur and blend the colours; the paintings were light, full of energy and movement. Predictably as we left the gallery it was pouring with rain. So we hopped on a bus and went to the National Gallery in search of the Wright of Derby exhibition. His paintings in complete contrast are very dark. The people emerge from dark backgrounds; often lit from below. His most famous painting is An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump; this is dark in colour as well as subject matter – experimenting by depriving a bird of air and seeing what happens. The expressions of the witnesses are telling. The pictures are very large and imposing, the room they were in had high ceilings but was relatively small. Again in contrast to the light, airy Courtauld gallery – which also has a great collection of Impressionist paintings.
If we didn’t have shade we wouldn’t appreciate the light.
I for one love the sunrise at 5am and I get up and get going, knowing full well that in December I will be in my pit until the last minute. In yoga we are taught about lotus flowers that literally grow out of sludge and produce the most beautiful blooms. None of us want to have sad or dark times, but they are inevitable and managing them can be a challenge. I firmly believe that our emotions are like weather systems; they breeze in and eventually recede, this is not to downplay their impact. But like dark clouds obscuring the sun they do pass and the sun comes out again. I also believe that at our core we are joyful, it’s like an internal touchstone present and unwavering. But it can get obscured by life and events.
We sometimes need little reminders to find that inner joy.
Writing a gratitude diary at the end of the day – it doesn’t have to be War and Peace – but a winnowing out of the glimmers and good bits, the gold out of the mud. They are always there, the sun shining, a smile from a friend, a chat in a shop, good food, warm bed. If you are feeling very dark it can be difficult and you may not feel a whole heap better but it is helping your brain make new pathways and connections, it takes time and practice. In fact I have found that the dark days are the most important ones to reconnect with gratitude.
An awareness of abundance once you start looking for it you’ll see it everywhere. I am constantly amazed at how many seeds plants produce, look in your wardrobe and the abundance of clothes you have – I doubt you only have one of everything! What is in the fridge?
Small acts of kindness: holding a door for someone, smiling at a shop worker, picking up litter, volunteering, calling a friend.
What goes around comes around be kind, generous, grateful and it will come back to you in spades and help make the world a happier place.
Try it for the sake of it, not for the reward.
It will help you through the darker days.