And the Storm will Pass

Last week the world as we knew it completely changed. Our normal daily activities were very abruptly put on hold indefinitely. Everything just stopped. In a world that is on the go 24/7 these new restrictions haven't been as easy as what we probably would have assumed.

It turns out that the majority of us are not too good with stopping. Imagine if a few months ago somebody told you a few weeks from now the world will stop, you will have to stay inside, work from home, read and watch tv. If you are anything with me you would have most likely replied "that would be amazing!" or "I wish!". I wonder if many of us would still have those same reactions? In my case what I would have said a few weeks couldn't be any different from what I would say now!

Lockdown is hard. In a way our independence and freedom has been restricted. For those of us who like to be out and about most of the day looking at the same four walls every day is driving us crazy. For those who have difficult family situations, those difficulties probably seem heightened making the days that little bit harder. Those of us living in a separate house from our partners, we miss them, probably more than we would care to admit. Our anxiety and mental health are probably starting to struggle slightly. This all very true for a lot of people and that's ok. We are allowed to feel a little bit sad about everything because a new normal has been imposed on us with very little time to prepare.

However, it is very important to remember that despite all of this there are always positives. We might just have to dig a little deeper some days to find them! Think of how 'busy' you were before all of this, how you had no time do anything else and you always had some place to go or be. Now you have all that time you wished for. You can study that course, read those books, watch those films, start that online business, learn a new song with your chosen instrument, get your career kickstarted, the list is endless.

Our normal looks very different but it is full of endless potential that a few weeks ago we could only wish for. This is a storm. There is beauty and purpose in every storm and what we need to remember mostly is that the storm always passes. Always.

Looking through my archive of photos this week I came across these pictures. I edited it slightly brining out those blue tones and darkening the sky. When I first looked at it I knew I wanted a 'stormy' edit. The picture leant itself to that sort of vibe and the North Coast gives off the best moody/stormy vibes. I began to edit it for this look mainly because that is where my mind was at, I was feeling gloomy and that was reflected in my edits. While I was pondering whether to post it or not I remembered that we need to appreciate the storm. I didn't want to post this picture to my instagram because all my other pictures were nice bright pictures of the coast, trying to reflect this 'positive' attitude and I didn't want to disturb that.

I began to realise that the majority of the time when shooting landscapes around the North Coast, the weather is horrible. Cloud, rain, wind everything rolled into one. However, you bear with the weather and just when you're about to call it a day the clouds will part ever so slightly, the light will change and you've got an epic landscape shot. The storm brought that perfect light and conditions. So in the midst of all my bright coastal landscapes, I posted my stormy edit as a reminder to weather the storm because the aftermath can be pretty beautiful.

Stay safe

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