Both are true - Darkness and Light
Walking in Winter means catching the light where you can. The shadows and darkness descend faster and more obliquely in the short, cold days.
As I walk I've been thinking about the positives of darkness, coolness in Summer, a place to hide or rest and imagine apparitions emerging. At the times we live in it might seem strange to want to celebrate the other side of light and security but political darkness is perverse and greed driven.
The shade of the natural world doesn't have wicked aims, the creatures that hide in it are simply surviving, the plants resting and the light is taken away by the laws of physics only.
While greed and corruption drive our dark political world, it is only hunger or survival that lives in the midnight of nature.
The light lifts our soul, heals our mental health and guides our steps while the dark gives a place to rest. But the greatest part of those hidden places are the tales of adventure, fantastic creatures and shadow worlds of our imagination.
I struggle with the dark mornings, early sunsets and claustrophobic outdoor clothing. Walking means retreating from favourite paths that are either running streams or troll infested bogs. I feel bloated, insecure and gloomy.
I try to paint and my work is heavy and full of grey shadows but...
A sudden burst of winter sun brings bright Mediterranean blue sky and deep indigo shadows. The remaining leaves shine with mirror green and copper against the grey-green trees. Nature’s darkness is full of life, a place to rest, to dream, to renew – a way to survive and bring new life.
Anyway, it’s raining, again so I’ll stop now and turn over the page in my sketchbook ... there are primroses bursting into life in the garden again.