All the light we cannot see

Last weekend I was lucky enough to see the Northern Lights a few miles from home.  The blog photo is one from that night.

The Lights are a thing of beauty.  And a curious phenomenon.  Most photos show their bright colours, dancing with the darkness.  Exciting, vibrant and full of life.

And yet, in the raw,  with the naked eye, you could very easily miss them.  Off-white, they’re so much more subtle than expected.  You need to pay attention, to be astonished.

The first time I saw the Lights, they came in wispy trails.  This time, they came in two forms: a curtain, and then downward rays through the darkness – like their siblings, rays of sun through daytime clouds.

It’s the camera lens that gives them the colour.  It can discern what the human eye can’t.

Part of me is disappointed that’s the case.  Ideally, I’d like the magic of the Lights and what I see myself to be the same thing.  That would feel more … real.

On the other hand, I feel lucky to have seen this wonder of nature at all.  And needing to use a camera lens is no different to looking through other lenses to see things like eclipses and 3D movies.

The difference between what people see and what actually exists is a bit like the experience of being an HSP.

We’re often seen as dull – even boring – when actually we’re bursting with colour, complexity and vitality.

Like the Lights, we take time to be found.  Because HSPs tend to keep a low profile – naturally, and also because what makes us who we are can often be tiresome for others.

But both we and the Lights show up in the right conditions and – dare I say it – are worth the wait.

The Lights need the sky to be dark, free of clouds and relatively unpolluted by light.  Us HSPs come out to play when we feel welcome,  accepted and able to be ourselves.

I hope you get the right conditions and flourish in them.  And that you let others find you.  It’s time to let your light and dazzling colours shine.