My illuminations on Julia Baird’s ‘Phosphorescence’

My illuminations on Julia Baird’s ‘Phosphorescence’

 

 

I doubt Julia Baird could have ever foreseen the unprecedented circumstances that the world would find itself in during the year of 2020, as thousands of readers picked up her book to pass the time during the pandemic. Locked up at home, our hearts stuffy with a yearning not just for joy and freedom but normalcy, her novel must surely have felt like a breath of relief, a gentle exhalation from mother nature herself, for many of us.

 

I’m not exactly sure what I expected when I first picked up the book. I had known little about Julia Baird, aside from the fact that her older brother had been the 44th premier of New South Wales, and that she had been the long-running host for the television program ‘The Drum’ on ABC. Yet, the front cover had entranced me from the moment I set my eyes on it. We know all too well the importance of not judging a book by its cover, but the iridescent patterns which ordained the front cover could not have been a more accurate indicator of the wondrous descriptions and nature-filled beauties captured within the book.

‘Phosphorescence’ is a part-autobiographical, part-non-fictive exploration of the things we must seek in life to secure fulfillment, happiness and a sense of purpose. It begins with a rigorous case for the need to expose ourselves to the wonders of nature to nurture the qualities which make us human; altruism, perspective and personal strength. It filled my heart with an urge to dive headfirst into the chilliest ocean waves, or plunge into the lush greenery of untouched forests, so that I too could feel that breathtaking wonder of being exposed to earth’s awe-inspiring beauties. Baird has a way of creating captivating images of light and life through her descriptions which almost mimic the very sensation of witnessing them firsthand.

 

Throughout her more scientific investigations into the power of natural experiences, wonder and renewing perspectives, Baird also weaves her personal anecdotes and insights, and these are the gems which make the message of the novel last in the minds of her readers. From the child-like highs of swimming in the ocean, ‘surrounded by shafts of speckled light… fine particles in cathedral light’, to the lows of surgeries and the aching pains of recovery, she shares her core message that to truly live, is not to be surrounded by constant light and exhilaration, but to develop a genuine appreciation for the ephemeral amidst the turmoil and uncertainties of human existence. We cannot have our highs if there are no lows to balance them out. We cannot feel joy without pain and suffering to remind us just how special these moments of pleasure are. There would be no wonder in discovering phosphorescence if we lived in a world under constant illumination.

There are two particular chapters in the book which touched me in particular.

 

The first in the importance of ‘Freudenfreude’, which Baird endearingly characterises as the more benevolent sibling of the term ‘Schadenfruede’. The latter of these German expressions refers to the complex emotion in which one derives pleasure from another’s painful experiences, or bitterness at their success. Baird highlights the importance of Freudenfreude, an increasingly rare occurrence in our highly competitive and comparative society, not only in preventing negative emotion and psychological illness, but also in strengthening our character and helping us to find a deep satisfaction in our own lives. We rarely associate this sense of ‘unselfish joy’ with an absence of depression or illness. We are often told that empathy is the quality which sets humans apart from any other, but it is not often that we investigate the power of it in lengthening our life spans. The characterisation of ‘a delight. In another’s good fortune’ as the antidote for envy and a cure for mental illness truly captures the need for all of us to actively pursue greater empathy, and perhaps relinquish our desperate comparisons of ourself against other airbrushed influencers on social media, if we are to overcome our Schadenfreude mindset.

 

 

Another rather similar exploration Baird makes is in her incredibly personal letter addressed to her daughter. She expresses her fears that her daughter will fall victim to the self-disparaging comments and judgements which every woman must tackle in her lifetime in today’s society. Her wish that her daughter Poppy can retain her youthful confidence and strength gave me a jolt of wistfulness, for when I too felt an unbridled assurance in my own voice, before I bent myself beneath the harsh criticisms of the world. It made me wonder what advice I would give to myself, or perhaps my own daughter, knowing the experiences that I have encountered in the past few years. She spoke in the voice of every female who knows all too well the harsh realities of trying to stand your ground.

 

 

This is a book I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their age, gender or opinions of Baird which they may hold prior to reading. It is a beautiful insight into the pains, curiosities and marvels of life, a much-needed relief from our world defined by concrete buildings and glowing screens.

A book review of ‘Phosphorescence: on awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark’ (by Julia Baird)