Bright Blessed Day

I was thinking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, today--you know air, water, food, shelter. And then farther on down the list, things like companionship, confidence, creative outlets... essentially all of the reasons that self-help programs are so popular. But you know what's not on the pyramid? Not anywhere? Not even in the highest levels (and therefore lowest priority)?

Sunlight. It's just not there. And you can't piggyback it with something like homeostasis. That's simply a catch-all for the fact that we need to be generally not ill or, say, stuck in a walk-in freezer.

We are not algae or bacteria. On a very technical level--even if you take in the whole vitamin D business--sunlight isn't a requirement. Isn't that odd?

Today, I went for a walk and took this picture. This is high noon in Scandinavia.



While I was trying to get a shot light enough, I realized that this strange woman was speaking to me.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I said," she repeated in English, pointing to the sky, "that it's beautiful isn't it?"

And even though I took this picture because I knew you all would be incredulous--even though it was a weak, watery sun behind our traditional blanket of grey--I couldn't help but agree.

"It is," I said. "It really is."