The cold damp weather continues relentlessly at the moment. Enticing glimpses of sunshine in between the grey cold. The start of my Pilates classes is usually characterised with everyone saying how fed up they are with being COLD.
To a certain extent, this is part of being British. We grumble and moan about the cold, the heat, the rain, the leaves on the line. If you took the weather away from us as a conversational pivot we’d possibly flail about aimlessly until we settled upon “shall I put the kettle on?”
Everyone is fed up of being grey and damp. Most of my clients are noticing their aches and pains are flaring up and everyone feels scrunched up and tense because of huddling shoulders up to ears in defence against the rain.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) will certainly have a few more sufferers within this gloom. It’s the greyness that has the overriding effect…gloomy like a bad tempered headmaster sitting on your head constantly is bound to take its toll.
British people are like lizards, when the sun shines we instantly want to feel it on our skin and allow the warmth to seep into our bones. When I lived in Japan I remember a brightly sunny vaguely warm day in spring brought all of us gaijins onto our balconies in t-shirts and shorts, hungrily stripping off as far as was decent in order to feel the sun draping its warmth over as much skin as possible, in a celebratory mood, while our Japanese neighbours looked on in bemusement..it was a mild spring day but certainly not summer yet.
Sunshine is never taken for granted by us Brits, at any moment it might scuttle away (and you certainly can’t plan a picnic more than 4 hours in advance) so we race out to soak it up while we can, even if this means being slightly chilly while we try and tan our legs.
In hot climes in places like Ibiza, Thailand, Sri Lanka the most striking difference you notice compared to the UK is the vibrant colours, the abundance of colour everywhere, in clothing, buildings, woven into the fabric of life, into the mood even? I wonder if there is a link between your mood and the warmth, the colour that surrounds you.
Certainly in Sri Lanka and in my travels in Thailand I have always wanted to embrace the spirit and colour, buy bright fabric and clothes with opulent orange, pops of pink, turquoise, emerald greens …only to find when they come home they seem slightly garish and incongruous set against the tempered greys and browns of home.
But more recently I’ve thought, sod cultural temperament. Colour makes me happy. I’m basically a colour junkie now. Partial to a pink pom-pom for everyday wear, without embarrassment (Maurice and Freddie are going to love me at the school gates in a few years’ time…). If it’s colourful, embroidered, quirky patterned, I’m on it. Turquoise and coral are my go-to colours for sparking joy. In clothes, maybe in lipstick (coral rather than turquoise…), nail varnish…a flash of joy here and there. I’ve painted some walls in my Pilates studio “palm springs” teal/turquoise paint, to imbue the sun-soaked vibes of Sri Lanka.
So, if you’re feeling drab, cold, tense and fed up as a lot of us seem to be right now, maybe have a think about the colours you’re surrounding yourself with. Commit to bringing a bit of brightness into your life while we wait for spring/summer to finally show up 🌸🌺🌹
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