Sunshine

It’s something so simple to us, that it probably doesn’t even occur to most people about just how complicated the process is to bring that ray of sunshine to our faces.

It’s taken until mid May to get to this point, and I daren’t actually articulate it unless I jinx the whole thing, but summer is dangerously close to being visible, and along with it I’ve noticed that people all around the city (possibly the country but I’m only able to be in one place at a time) seem genuinely happy.

Now I know people band terms like ‘being happy’ about too often these days in facebook statuses and whatnot, but when I say it I mean there’s a genuine depth of serenity and peace blanketing the faces of the tides of people swarming around at all times of day. I see it on the commute, I see it at work, I see it on my walks around Canary Wharf and I see it when I go out in the evening. It’s absolutely astonishing that there’s such a stark difference between the ‘London of Winter’ and the ‘London of Summer’. It’s almost like the inhabitance of ‘London of Winter’ get in their misery busses and slink off somewhere to cry a bit while the people of ‘London of Summer’ arrive in ship loads and start laughing as soon as their flip flop clad foot hits dry land.

It’s strange to think that our emotional attachment to sunlight and its sheer force on humanity can come from something as terrifying as our sun’s miracle of physics. We don’t seem to think above the clouds but if we did we’d be stunned at the fact that these almost physical shards of solar pleasure start their life inside a massive ball of anger, heat and radiation.

A Brazilian friend of mine mentioned to me about attitudes of people who have this weather all the time, and oddly enough it’s completely taken for granted. I know we can get a little offish when the summer gets just that bit too hot, but I think we’d rather that than the alternative (on the whole).

I, personally, am more of a winter baby (born in October as I was), however I do like the sunlight beating down even if it’s a chilly day. I’m not one to enjoy long drawn out summers but I can certainly see that the positive effect they have on those around me and that’s enough to let me enjoy the oppressive heat for a time.

We have the pleasant warmth of the summer months which (it could be argued) we appreciate to the level we do as result of the cold, harshness of the winter months. As well as that we have the brutal, powerful source of our gentle, calming seasons. Perhaps it’s sensible to think about both sides to the coins when we’re feeling a little low when the clouds cast over us and remember that although the sunlight might go away for a little while, it means we’d appreciate it all the more on it’s return.

Welcome to summer. For now.

A Change of Pace

It’s been a while, I know. I don’t feel I’ve neglected my blog, and I don’t feel too guilty for not steaming in and rushing out a series of half thought out articles. Is this the same writer you may ask yourself? Someone who previously was knocking over the elderly and whacking children out of the way to get to the nearest laptop and type something… anything… Well yes it is!

As with everything in life, you go through peaks and troughs, highs and lows and everything in between. It’s a journey of discovery, anxiety, ecstasy and biology which is such a solid mass of effort and work that no human could possibly hope to juggle in tandem without relinquishing their grip on at least a few of the peripheral aspects of their day to day lives.

I’m a man who likes to be busy and has very clear goals and focuses which I work through over the course of my life and know as well as anyone the pit falls of juggling so much for so long and the sheer burnout which happens as a result. I almost reached that burnout a few weeks back with a variety of different projects as well as a day job to compliment each other. It’s a tall order and one I took on for a time and realised I needed to step back from a few things in order for them to be any way successful.

This brings me to the point of my article (yes, there are points this month), and that is the merits of changing gear and altering ones pace.

I have always prided myself on my ability to balance a series of projects and tasks around whatever I do but recently, in fact during my business trip to New York, I simply had to step back and review my priorities to stop my brain from catching alight.

May is a weird month as it’s a significant way into the year, but it’s not exactly the half way point. May is a month where the weather is apparently picking up, but rarely does, and it’s a time where (for me personally) birthdays happen left right and centre (all those randy parents in September… shame on you).

I think it’s a healthy option to pace yourself, whatever you’re doing, even if it’s just for a time. A car constantly in first gear doesn’t do a lot of favours to the gearbox, and it’s like that with your mind. Sometimes it’s OK to run on automatic, its fine to glide and it’s acceptable to coast for a while.

It’s due to this belief that I’ve stood back from my blog for the month and halving the number of articles I’m publishing. It’s not that I’ve lost interest, lack the ability or am being held to ransom by terrorists, it’s simply that I’m taking a month focussing on some other projects, one which will actually map to this blog quite tightly in a month or two… watch this space.

So to conclude, I recommend to everyone that May be the month you step back, refocus and take it down a gear. Take a deep breath, sit back and consider your actions, don’t just act on them. And who knows, you might even do a better job as a result!