Outer and Inner Lives

“I have noticed that 
when all the lights are on, 
people tend to talk about 
what they are doing 
– their outer lives. 
Sitting round in candlelight or firelight, 
people start to talk about 
how they are feeling 
– their inner lives. 
They speak subjectively, 
they argue less, 
there are longer pauses. 
To sit alone 
without any electric light 
is curiously creative. 
I have my best ideas 
at dawn or at nightfall, 
but not if I switch on the lights 
– then I start thinking 
about projects, deadlines, demands, 
and the shadows 
and shapes of the house 
become objects, 
not suggestions, 
things that need to done, 
not a background to thought.”


~ Jeanette W. :)