The Light Within

Winter is the season of sunsets.

Other seasons,

with their longer days,

offer more opportunities

to seek out the setting sun.

That, though, takes intent.

This time of year,

as winter approaches,

and again soon after

the darkest days around solstice,

in my part of the world,

I leave work

around the time the sun sets,

so I see one every day,

intended or not.

It is unavoidable.

Winter is the season of sunsets.

A small post today. Just a coincidence of thoughts on a theme that have come across my feed lately. Thoughts about small things.

The post title comes from my seven-year-old son. It's a phrase he coined for a bit of "magic" he carried around for a while. See last post for more.

He recently brought this home from school:

"Woods" and the two that follow it are names of friends.

From my feed today: 

Wherever you are,

at any moment,

try and find something beautiful.

A face, a line out of a poem,

the clouds out of a window,

some graffiti, a wind farm.

Beauty cleans the mind.

~ Matt Haig

I'm beginning to recognise

that true happiness isn't something

large and looming on the horizon

ahead, but something small, numerous,

and already here.

     The warm sunset, a decent

breakfast, the smile of someone

you love. Your little everyday joys all

lined up in a row.

 ~ Beau Taplin

From George Lakoff:

All thought is carried out by neural circuitry — it does not float in air. Language neurally activates thought. Language can thus change brains, both for the better and the worse. 

Hate speech changes the brains of those hated for the worse. It creates toxic stress, fear and distrust — all physical, all in one’s neural circuitry active every day. 

This internal harm can be even more severe than an attack with a fist. It imposes on the freedom to think and therefore to act free of fear, threats, and distrust. 

It imposes on one’s ability to think and act like a fully free citizen for a long time.

Hate speech can also change the brains of those with mild prejudice, moving it towards hate and threatening action. When hate is physically in your brain, then you think hate and feel hate, you are moved to act to carry out what you physically, in your neural system, think and feel.

That is why hate speech in not “mere” speech.

From The New York Times:

The Opposite of Schadenfreude Is Freudenfreude. Here’s How to Cultivate It.

Finding pleasure in another person’s good fortune is what social scientists call “freudenfreude,” a term (inspired by the German word for “joy”) that describes the bliss we feel when someone else succeeds, even if it doesn’t directly involve us. Freudenfreude is like social glue, said Catherine Chambliss, a professor of psychology at Ursinus College. It makes relationships “more intimate and enjoyable.” . . . 

A small 2021 study examined positive empathy’s role in daily life and found that it propelled kind acts, like helping others. Sharing in someone else’s joy can also foster resilience, improve life satisfaction and help people cooperate during a conflict. . . . 

If you’re interested in enjoying a little more freudenfreude, try some of the tips below, culled from FET (Freudenfreude Enhancement Training) and other experts.

Show active interest in someone else’s happiness. . . . 

View individual success as a communal effort. . . . 

Share credit for your successes with others. . . . 

Turn into a joy spectator. . . . 

Experiencing more freudenfreude doesn’t mean you’ll never root against a villain again, but being able to reach for happiness is inherently beneficial. “As delicious as it is to delight in our enemy’s defeats, celebrating our friends’ success — big and small — helps us all triumph in the end,” Dr. Chambliss said.

Small things light the light within.