I've suffered from depression all of my life, but after more than 40 years on this tiny blue/green spinning bean that we call Earth, I have learnt a few tactics to pull myself out of a funk.
One of these tactics is to completely immerse myself in a fond memory until the blues fade away.
Today I have definitely been feeling more than a little blue... so to try and turn that frown upside down 🙃🙂 I put on one of my favourite Drum'N'Bass playlists on YouTube and had a dig through some old photos from a trip to Portugal in 2018.
As I looked through the pictures I took of Lisbon, memories shone through like the blinding sun in those pics.
Wandering the streets of that hilliest of cities - fuelled up on good coffee and pastries that the Portuguese do so well - I'm not sure if it was just the sugar high, but I remember feeling very happy. As I looked at these pictures I realised it was more than the sugar 😅 Lisbon was a very out-and-about city, everyone seemed to be on the streets, exploring and having a good time.
I think contrast can play a large part in why we feel such good vibes on holiday, and this out-door type of living is in sharp contrast to how we live in the north of the UK, mainly due to the constant wind and rain we have for 8 months of the year. Perhaps I was just vitamin D deficient before I went to Lisbon, and that is why I floated around the place with a perpetual grin on my face, pasty white skin guzzling that good sun like a football fan on his fifth pint of lager 😂
Anyway, enough of my rambling.
As I looked at these pictures I thought as they were flooded with light, it might be interesting to process them to a strong contrasted black and white using GIMP photo editing suit. I feel that the processing has lent the images a quality that inspires a strong nostalgia, while the contrast between light and shadow seems to work well.
Looking at these pictures now, I distinctly remember wandering those streets - scaling the hill to the castle that overlooks the city, checking out the local street art and people-watching in one of my favourite capital cities in Europe.
They say happiness is just a frame of mind - but memories of good food, exercise, sun and vibrant street life will go a long way toward getting you in that frame of mind.
Thanks for reading 🌿
All images in this post were taken by me in Portugal, in 2018.
Camera: Samsung S7 Edge.