Night. Dark. Black. Nyctophille.
We all have reasons on why we love things. Some people like puppies, some like kittens, some like hanging out, while others love studying. Nyctophilia, as we call it, is the love of darkness. Yes, there are people who really love darkness. I am one of them. And I even think that you too (it could be the reason why you clicked on this essay). I also have my own reason why I live on loving darkness. And I can share you some.
Whenever I open an app (ie YouTube, Messenger, Twitter, Medium, etc.), I usually first browse for the ?night mode? or ?dark mode? buttons. White light emmitted from my phone screen is too luminous even when I set the brightness of my cellphone to lowest setting possible. I wore eyeglasses, but it has no high-frequency filter and therefore, reading and using an app while white light is torturing me could be catastrophic to my eyes. And thanks to the night mode, I can access my favorite places without an irritating white light messing around. The man who invented dark mode deserves an award.
But of course, it is not the reason why I love darkness. So, if it isn?t it, then what is? Okay. So, here are the reasons why:
1) Calmness
I am not a psychiatrist, but I can?t deny the fact that darkness causes me to feel calm. Although, darkness was portayed by some ( and sometimes by me) as something scary, nyctophiles usually don?t find it scary at all.
For some, it may cause fear, but for me, it can be a perfect time for meditation. Especially, when you are in the dark (more if you are alone), you don?t notice anything but your own thoughts. It provides calmness. And because of calmness, I can do more things (like plotting a story).
2) Imaginate
I am a daydreamer, I have a vivid wide imagination. That empowers me to continue writing. My thoughts are produced, mostly when I am in the dark.
I explained on the previous texts that darkness delivers calmness. This allowed me to think better. Since calmness is the key to better thinking, getting alone in the dark made me imaginate better.
Just like what the meditation gurus had taught us, ?if you want to stay focused, you have to stay calm.?
You can try this by yourself. Try to get into the darkness, which could be your room or the basement of your house, just switch off the light and shut the windows. You may close your eyes if you want. Then try to picture out your own world. For fantasy writers, you can imaginate a wonderland where your characters live the way you wanted them to. For sci-fi authors, you can see your world filled of artificial intelligence, flying cars, and floating buildings better if you are in the darkness. I believe that this might be because the darkness blocks most of light (actually, darkness is the absence of light, but more on that in other blogs). And since there is no light, you can?t see anything but your images formed inside your brain.
These ?images? inside yout mind is called ?mind?s eye?. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined it as: ?the mental faculty of conceiving imaginary or recollected scenes?. The images formed inside your brain when you read a novel. The picture of that witch you?ve read in you latest fantasy book, the image of your crush formed inside your brain last night, the picture of the road you went through that you remembered when you?re lost, those are what we call the mind?s eye.
I, myself, believe that this faculty of conceiving images is most active when we are calm. I bet you too (how about commenting below your belief?)
Not every decision has a deeper reason
Not every decision has a deeper reason. Just because I love black, doesn?t mean that I am depressed. Of course I feel sadness sometimes, but it is light-years away from being my reason why I love dark. Some people love black because of ?something deep?. I can?t and wont blame them. It is their decision to apply deep emotions in their lives. Give love, not hate.
That?s all, but?
Okay. That?s it. I love darkness just because it allows me to think deeper and make me relax, sometimes. But, yes, I lied. I am not a nyctophile. Nyctophilia is a disorder where a patient finds relaxation in the darkness. But I am not a psychiatrist, I can?t write a scientific article for the said situation.
I am not a nyctophile because, although I sometimes feel the love for the darkness, I can also feel fear and terrified when I am alone in that pitch black bedroom, so yeah, I am not a nyctophile.
What about another blog for being nyctophobic? The fear of darkness. Do you think it would be a great idea? Let me know in the comments! ?Til then, goodbye.
