On Finding our Contrasts

In space we don't notice the gazillion hectares of nothingness. It's the stars and planets. The contrasting light in the unending void.

[Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash]

About Contrasts

Look around you. There are colours and the absense of it. There are rounded corners that stand out against lines. There are things that spark joy and others that spark nothing.

The time away from ones we love. The calm before the storm. Annual festivals. The return home after a long journey (or time away). The people that stand by us.

Covid isn't normal, Brexit is a unique event. These times stand out for good or ill. But our minds delete the small details.

Times without Contrasts

It's contrasts that gives our lives the bits of everything that makes them interesting. Sometimes we choose them and sometimes they happen to us. These are the colours against the grey.

One of the challenges of the UK Covid Winter was the grey of Devon weather. Sometimes it's weather punctuated by days with 4 seasons in one day. Or hour.

The same goes for self-isolation for 10 days. It helps in the fight against spreading Covid but it's not great for mental health!

But these days and times are punctuated by highs of a day of unexpected sun, reuniting with friends or a trip on the train to see the dentist.

Choosing the Contrasts

Sometimes we can choose some of the contrasts we experience.

In Music, in who we are around, in the media we consume, in our food, in our daily routines.

Regular routines might be modified by an occasional treat, a night away, a visit to an old friend.

We can take a look at our lives and see where a break in the routine of a splash of colour against the grey could be useful

There are still contrasts in a life that's got a regular routine.

My Contrasts

Since I work for myself I can choose some of the contrasts I experience.
The contrasts I notice most at most are

• Board Games Evening. Tuesday night is online board games with friends from Devon. This is a contrast against current travels where I often don't know many people around me
• Cultural Differences. I'm traveling a lot at mo and see so many similarities. But then small things like salad with breakfast (Poland).
• Worrying about the Schengen Zone. One of the "benefits" of Brexit is in the Schengen Zone. Longer queues at passport control , having passport stamped and keeping track of number of days before. Contrasting with free travel throughout the EU.

Finishing Up

In contrast the the rest of the article this isn't a witty line.

What contrasts linger in your mind?