18 Slow Sunday
Five things that left me inspired this week (through pictures)
This week has felt slower, which has been a welcome relief. Though part of the slowness came from a bout of food poisoning that kept me in bed for two days, sometimes you take what you can get. Besides, the house was quiet, and I was able to devour a favourite book of mine, Normal People, after binging the equally great TV series. Normal People possibly ranks among my top five books—at least in my top ten. It’s one of the few I’ve chosen to reread, alongside A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Rereading Normal People has been just as pleasant as the first time, though now it’s fun because, thanks to the television show, I have faces to put to the characters.
I love Normal People for its ability to capture life’s complexity, from the slow drag of mundane moments to the fullness of nuanced, emotional depth. The story is honest, giving meaning and value to otherwise very depressive spells—a reminder for when those moments hit in real life. And the highs? The highs are so beautiful but often filled with contradiction, showcasing life’s fluidity. So many of us live in that in-between space, and that element is what draws me to this story again and again.
Here are five other things that inspired me this week (plus a few days).
1. The Moon
I’m still reminiscing about the last Harvest Moon. I took this photo the following night with a 70-200mm lens and a very shaky hand, leaving its depth soft.
2. These colours; these textures
Colour has always inspired me. Can I be a colourist? Is that a career?
There is something about these shades that prepares me for winter. They are not the traditional fall colours—those of oranges, yellows, browns and reds—still, these colours make me feel cozy. The deep ocean blue, the evergreen trees, the fog wrapping itself around me on a fall Seattle day, the pop of red in the distance waiting for my camera to notice, the oat-coloured sand. I suppose these colours feel a bit like home.