Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Little Black Cloud






Cardigan: LOFT; Top: LOFT (on sale!); Jeans: Gap; Booties: Lulu's

I bought Ben the first two books in a series for Christmas that were sitting on some intriguing shelf-talkers in Powell's and after watching him devour them over his Christmas break, dove in myself. The series, by Sergei Lukyanenko, is a fantasy series about good and evil in Moscow that was translated into English about 8 years ago and was very popular in Russia. I haven't read a book in a little while (embarrassing, but such is life), pausing after reading Wild and starting A History of Love a few months ago, so it was a welcome change of pace from Candy Crush Soda Saga. 

The first few pages of Night Watch introduce the idea that people have curses thrown upon them every single day - from comments like "I hope you die" or "I hope she has a terrible day" - that begin to affect their aura. Someone with a curse gives off a dark color and it starts to affect their mood. They feel a bit more down, are more predisposed for misfortune, are unhappier. In the book, curses range from those thrown by ordinary people and wear off in a day, to those thrown by magicians that can actually harm or kill someone. If you subtract a bit of the magician element, the idea of a little curse, or a little bit of negative energy, makes a lot of sense.

I went to work today in a bad mood. I knew it was going to be a tough day and I walked in ready to have my bad day - effectively cursing myself. I felt like a black cloud was hanging over my head all morning. Nothing particularly bad happened, but my mood kept souring. I took a quick trip home at lunch to just lay down by my cat and felt better, but by the time I was back at work, the black cloud was back. As the day went on, I felt like little things kept going wrong. I started to worry that our wedding invitations hadn't made it to their destination. I worried about a work event. I worried about text messages. I took some comments from a friend the wrong way. The little black cloud I'd welcomed in in the morning was coloring everything around me darker than it should have been. 

By the time I was in my pajamas, I had gone through a full spectrum of emotion - from a near breakdown about wedding invitations (only to discover that they'd reached their destination just fine and were sitting in mailboxes across the U.S.), to an argument with a friend (that actually ended up resolving a many-month long awkwardness), and to a complete reversal of my mood. By the end of the day, it seemed, my curse upon myself had worn off. The little black cloud gone from my head. 

A good reminder that we often cause our own bad moods and create little self-fulfilling prophecies that are entirely unnecessary!


12 comments

  1. We totally create our own bad moods... It's so easy to be negative and then, naturally just attract more negativeness on ourselves. I'm glad that you've resolved your problems and felt better by the end of the day. Also, you look SO cute in this outfit! :)

    http://lartoffashion.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. These photos are so cute, I love your jeans

    xo

    www.laurajaneatelier.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've totally done the same thing...set myself up for a bad day...so not a good idea! Your layers look so cute here!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great concept to think about how people throw emotional affects that stick to people. I might have to look into that book too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hopefully your day is better today!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous lady! Even in the rain!

    Greyavenue.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. How true...mindset is everything!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I feel like I've been more susceptible to these little curses and black clouds lately. Sometimes I shake them off... and sometimes they last all day like yours did. Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This makes me wish cardigans were manly attire. Because I would man it all over town in one.

    ReplyDelete
  10. what a lovely rainy day outfit! I love wearing knits this time around. I just changed the name and theme of my blog, hope you can visit :)
    www.samanthamariko.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I couldn't agree more that your outlook on things is so important! Also love this outfit!

    katmicru

    ReplyDelete

© kelsey malieMaira Gall