Thankful Thursday: Dark v Light

When I was a small child I was afraid of the dark.  I saw things in the dark that other people didn't see.  Now people would just say that I had an over-active imagination.  Those who know me would laugh at such a suggestion because I am one of the least imaginative people I know.  However Mum and Dad were very understanding and I always had a night-light on top of the wardrobe.  As I always needed very little sleep I would watch that light for hours.

Fear of the dark left me as I grew up and now I actually enjoy the dark although I still am not too keen on walking through trees, particularly conifers, at night for some reason.

Twilight, on the other hand, is something I truly love.  I find it incomprehensible when people switch lights on at the first sign of the evening unless, of course, they are actually doing something which requires light.  For me it is a time to savour the last of the day and welcome the coming night.  Mind you I realise that I'm fortunate enough to live in the country and I can see the sky and enjoy the change.

Living on Lewis meant long, very long, winter nights.  So when I arrived home from work (when I lived on my own) the first thing I used to do when I got in was create a pleasant warm and 'cosy' environment.  I used to put the kitchen lights on and then go through to the bedroom, draw the blinds, and put on the bedside light.  Those lights stayed on until I went to bed.  I no longer work but I've not altered and now as soon as the day has fully turned to night I create that light environment until bedtime.

I think one of the things I dislike most is to have to switch lights on and off every time I go from room to room.  Except, for some completely irrational reason, the bathroom.  Mind you I am very rarely stationary for more than 30 minutes.  Oh and, yes, my bulbs are modern energy saving ones.

What on earth possessed me to share this piece of arcane information?  The fact that when I switched the light on in the bedroom last night I thought to myself how lucky I was to have such a pleasant environment and how much I, in fact most of us who do have pleasant environments, take them for granted.  

Since the Christchurch earthquakes I have become even more aware that I must be one of an incredibly small percentage of the world population who has that luxury.

So today I am thankful for my ability to see the light and the dark and to experience the comfort that they enable me and to enjoy.