Inspired by the Beauty of Darkness

How do you cope with “dark” days?
At least weather wise I am having difficulties to get used to the darkness and clouds here in the north of Germany. To cheer me up I decided to visit the art museum, Kunsthalle in Bremen. This time I was strange drawn not to the colorful paintings but the Kupferstich Kabinet (engravings, and mostly black and gray-scale ink and pencil drawings), which I was never even curious about. Realizing that I have never really appreciated the beauty of darkness.

Interesting to note that most of the drawings and prints had been tugged away in the countryside during the war, then got plundered and lost. Only recently some were brought back for a “Finderlohn”(reward for the “finder”). If those artworks could tell their story . . .  I just found this online project (Zeitzeugen) that lets history be told by those that lived it (in German). But I am getting sidetracked.

Well, the darkness . . . it found its way into some of sketches . . . inspired  by my previous post.

On a very personal level I have been sorting thru my last left-behind-already-condensed-belongings in Germany, old paintings, drawing and textile designs, fabrics I have woven and designed and some books that seemed dear to me at the time. And I was never able to throw away books. Now I am questioning deeply what I want to carry along with me into the next 50 years of my life using the KonMari method, only keeping what sparks my joy. I am also extending this to my inner worlds, feelings and thoughts. So much of what we carry along with us is out of habit has never been challenged by us of its validity or usefulness. Byron Katie‘s way of asking 4 questions has been helpful too.

A while ago, as part of a movement called “Joy Based Living“, I have been questioning my idea of “joy”, and the usual patterns of my thinking and living. As we have been discussing among our group “The Dark Side of Joy” it became clear that it is important to not only accept the darkness but actually to embracing it and find joy in it.

What is your experience with joy and its dark sister sadness? Are you trying to focus more on the bright side and how do you cope with the dark side? Or are you able to enjoy them both?

Well, getting back to my trip into town (Bremen) . . . which was also a mixed day, sunshine and clouds, happy and busy people, the beauty of the town and the soberness of the Kupferstich Kabinet. I let myself be the curious tourist in my home town . . . and it did cheer me up.
 

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