“Walk where it’s light”, I was told, someone remembering that just last autumn, I had torn a ligament in my knee.
It seemed a straight forward phrase. After sunset on these dark winter evenings the sky is an inky blue with sparkling stars, the air gets colder and any hint of water freezes on pavements and grass.
A walk on such an evening, cold though it might be, can refresh the body and lungs while being perfect for a mediation of the elements.
The walk along the path to home was quiet and looking skyward the vast blue sky was clear and the air crisp. The light from the local supermarket beyond the local green space (a football pitch), giving a warm glow. There in the distance was a huge Moon, showing clearly the dark and light of its surface which one feel could be touched, if the arm was held out towards it.
Think of all the references to light, night and moon in literature. A thought to combine the mind and senses as the walk proceeded. Of course the obvious one which came to mind was the play Romeo and Juliet: “What light through yonder window breaks etc”. Perhaps the most famous love salutation in any play. Light is used as a metaphor for love in many genres.
Or again light is used in reference to knowledge for example in the phrase “To see the light”.
As I walked home these thoughts came to mind with the remembrance of the warning.
Was the phrase used to infer something other than the basic literal meaning?
Was it a reference to some other part of the conversation?
What did the body language of the speaker add to the meaning of the phrase?
I had been to a talk on Neuro-Linguistic Programming recently and I put topics from that into my reasoning.
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing (and also make one very discontented).
Would I have pondered so much if the conversation had been made on the telephone or in an email?
How would the phrase sound on the telephone, would it be indicated differently on the telephone perhaps.
Then a thought came to mind, what if someone did a few scenes from that play on the telephone?
A new version of Romeo and Juliet?
Perhaps it could be marketed entitled The way Romeo would have said it in 2010, but then there is always a text. It is amazing how language can stimulate the mind in so many directions.
Was all this thinking because I might have been a little nervous walking home, the weather, the cold, the previous injury, or even the dark could have been the cause. One could pick any word and reflect on what it connects to in literature. A little mind game to pass the time.
