The Dark Path to Enlightenment.

Electricity.

We all take it for granted. TVs, computers, even light; electricity controls everything. 

Like everything however, we don't realise just how much we depend on it, until it is taken away from us. 

Last night I came home from work to utter darkness. Not just that all the lights were off and everyone was in bed, I mean pitch black; no street lamps, no traffic lights, nothing. A power cut had plunged the whole area into darkness. 

Now this wasn't completely unexpected, it had been scheduled during the day, but despite the pre-warning, I don't think any of us comprehended just how much it would affect us. Of course there'd be no TV, no cooker etc. but with mobile phone technology enabling you to have everything at your finger tips, 24/7, wherever you are in the world, we thought we'd be ok. However, what do you need to keep a mobile going? That's right: electricity to charge it. Therefore whilst we had 3G, Facebook, Twitter, music, iPlayer, and no end of apps, phone batteries needed to be rationed if we wanted our only form of alarm to go off in the morning. 

Whilst this experience practically crippled my brothers, I revelled in it. 

There was a level of quietness that I'd never experienced before. I couldn't hear that gentle hum of electrical vibes which are so constant, they have become the norm to us. 

There was an intensity of darkness that my eyes just didn't adjust to, not a single red standby laser in sight. 

Despite it being my home, it became a completely alien environment. 

The sensible thing to do would have been to go to bed, but after working all evening, although tired physically, my mind is always still wide awake. Generally, I have a cup of tea, a snack, and catch up on some TV that I've missed, but what was I going to do with no TV and practically no phone? 

I'll tell you what I did: I lit a candle, made myself a cup of tea on the gas hob and crept upstairs, careful not not to disrupt the quiet. 

For a while I just sat. I'm not going to lie, I was at a loss with no electricity for a few minutes, but I found myself mesmerised by the candle. I watched the flame dance and flicker, felt the warmth of it's amber glow, watched the wax slowly fall and freeze. It cast shadows that I'd never seen before, and gave the whole room a warmth and an atmosphere, that would be impossible with an artificial white light bulb. 

I eventually moved to the window and looked out over what is sadly becoming, an incredibly urban estate. Generally, it is lit up like a football stadium, but it was completely black other than the stars. I've never really taken much notice of them before on account they're dull, thanks to the glare of harsh lights that we humans permeate them with. Last night however, they truly sparkled. They glistened, they twinkled and almost winked at me in turn. There wasn't a thing in the sky that detracted from their beauty. 

Eventually, I realised just what I could do with no electricity. It was something so simple, something that's been around forever, something which should have come so naturally to me. However, it was something that shamefully, has joined the line of abandoned past times, in favour of technology. 

Writing. Not the typed word but the written word. You know, writing by hand, with a pen, a piece of paper? 

And thus I was inspired to write the basis of this blog. I couldn't post it online, but even without the buzz of people reading it, I was inspired to write anyway, just for the flow from the pen, the markings on the paper; I could feel what I was saying. All of the greatest writers in history have written in a dim room, just the gentle glow of a candle for company, and I found myself asking: why did this tradition die out? 

Why did any old past-times die out? 

Every past-time you can think of, has been scarred by technology: cooking, family time, music, even sport is being tarnished by robotics and machines these days. 

Don't get me wrong, I love technology as much as the next person. I am a self-confessed Apple girl and I love that the possibilities are endless; it's simply mind blowing. However, what happens when it all goes wrong? When the grid collapses? When we run out of resources? When someone simply cuts the wrong wire? 

Electricity doesn't just simply collapse, society collapses as well. 

We don't know what to do, how to communicate, how to survive. 

So maybe, from time to time, I will write by candle-light. I'll turn off my mobile, unplug the electrical devices, and just write. 

Maybe we should all take some time out from technology; go back to basics, spend some time together and sit around the table as opposed to the TV. 

You may find that the darkness is actually quite enlightening.