There is sometimes an infuriating moment of clarity at the
point of falling asleep which can drive a writer mad! Thoughts are at their purest
and ideas can begin to unfold. Start to focus and your muscles tighten in
appreciation, sleep falls away and insomnia beckons. Ignore the seduction and
you risk forgetting it all. One solution I have tried is jotting down a few
lines, but this involves turning on a torch and gathering one’s equipment. Whilst
good for creativity the next day, this is not ideal for getting back to sleep.
You don’t have to be a writer for this to happen; anyone can
be affected by ‘last minute’ thoughts before sleeping. I am currently trying
out a method of putting them to one side by treating them as a ‘practice run’.
I have found that I don’t actually forget these ideas. They continue to reside there,
somewhere, in my mind – which is much better at storage than I realise. When next
I sit down to write, perhaps taking inspiration from something as beautiful as
the jar pictured, as I relax so the ideas flood back.
The blue jar, which is in fact very old and once contained a
poisonous substance, was a gift from M who rather apologetically thrust it at
me on Saturday. It was wrapped in bubble-wrap inside a plastic bag, and
although he made the excuse of a ‘Valentine present’, it is something I admired
recently in the Tavistock Indoor Market. Discussing it with Richard, the
stall-holder, we exchanged ideas on how colours can be inspiring. This
particular blue is stunning and my eyes kept being drawn back to it.
You may find it odd therefore, that the colour of the jar
has led to the expansion of an idea in which colour is absent. In this extract
from my current work, a little discussion takes place in another dimension of
the universe between two people trapped in a grey place:
...“First, though, I need to explain about the light. Do you know about
the colours which humans can’t see? The importance of these other colours? …Now,
at home we have light and dark, don’t we? And our colour spectrum kind of goes
from light to dark.”
“Well, that’s very simplistic,” Helen almost laughed.
“OK, but what is unknown to us is that there is a third thing which is
neither light nor dark. I call it ‘lark’ for lack of any other word.” He felt
himself smile once more. “This kind of half-light which we’re in here is lark...”
The concept of a third element is not easy to convey, but
much of my writing expresses such things. More importantly, it occurs to me
that this grey place, neither light nor dark, can also exist in human minds as something
we might experience when suffering from depression. Many years ago I endured a
kind of depression in which even colours looked different and the most homely
and comforting of things surrounding me appeared hostile. Luckily this was a
temporary state, but there are some for whom it has become permanent.
Colour should not be taken for granted. I count it a luxury
which enriches all I see around me. Having known and worked with blind people I
am thankful I have the ability to perceive it. Some of the extraordinary and
beautiful photographs which crowd the internet call out to be looked at,
enjoyed and shared. So I hope you will enjoy my picture of the blue jar, and
that it will add clarity and colour to your day!
