Actively enjoy the quiet. Value the gentle. And value the subtle.
Things can turn out like that.
Know that the muted isn’t inherently dull, nor sombre, nor melancholy. Those connotations are learnt, perhaps imposed, are never universal.
Muted colours and contrasts. It’s not just the bright that counts, nor just the bold.
Spend time. Expend effort. Notice. Appreciate.
The why of it
I had muted colours as a focus, but I’m not wholly sure why.
In recent months two friends have died. And one relative. And one long-standing good neighbour. Nothing to celebrate, but at least they weren’t surprises.
I know a couple of people who are lonely, They struggle with it a bit, but they’re not down as such.
The weather’s typically mid-winter-ish, even if it’s the kind of mild winter that climate change is bringing now. So yes, nature’s by-and-large pausing. But there’s growth coming. There are good reasons for hope.
Overall, a muted focus maybe … but generalised; not negative.
Arguably
Weather, climate, geography – they are perhaps more of an active factor in our lives than we readily acknowledge. You can start with Montesquieu saying that geography and climate influences the nature of people and society. You can go back far further for a similar line of reasoning, to Aristotle for example.
Any claims that that line of thought has any merit would supportive empirical proof. But on a dull winter’s day it feels possible.
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