Day. The partner to night.

“The light of day,” we say, usually to herald something good happening. For example, if the book I’ve been working on for quite some time now eventually sees the light of day, I will be very, very happy!

In contrast, “never see the light of day” means something got hidden or buried. It is hard to think of a celebratory connotation or application. Usually, it suggests we’re up to no good and hope for the dark of night to cover our misdeeds.

Ultimately, the light of day and dark of night are equally important to mental, emotional and physical health, and not only human health. All of creation needs periods of dark, and research has well established that our human tendency to flood the planet with artificial light at all hours and all times has negative consequences. Best known is that the light from cities confuses migratory birds and causes many avian deaths, but there are many others.*

So… which is it, a sunrise or a sunset? I’m curious how you see the picture. You don’t know where I was standing, nor which direction I was facing, and I don’t think there’s a clue in the photo to tell you. Might your relationship to light and dark shape your perception?

*See Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s excellent book, Rooted. (Little, Brown Spark)