i’ve decided that lighting is one of the critical aspect of a house or flat or living space. My current flat in Nairobi has terrible, i mean, really crappy lighting and I am noticing that it has a huge impact on my energy levels and desire to do much of anything. Its dull, dreary, and i found myself squinting more than i should. Finding good lighting to read in becomes a challenge – well ok, i have managed to set the chair “just right” – perhaps i should put some tape on the floor like they do in theatre so that i don’t have to make about 27 and half small adjustments each night to get it back to “just right.”

I notice it in England too…the lights there are not dull and dreary, but there is not a lot of natural light that gets into the house -and that’s not ’cause it is rainy all the time!! 🙂 Its more because of how the house is situated and the path of the sun.

I crave sunlight. Some days i wonder if i should have been a cat so that i could sleep in the sun and purr all day long. But lighting is important, it makes a huge impact on one’s ability to read, to do school work, to cook, and so on.

And yet, then i remember those without electricity, those without lights in their houses, those children i have seen sitting under streetlamps trying to complete their homework at 10pm before going to bed so that their primary school teacher won’t be upset with them. I remember and I take my hand and cover my mouth to silence…it is reminder to be grateful rather than whine, to remember the glass can be seen as half-full, and that the night sky can be seen not as dark black, but full of little moments of light – perspective is everything…