Our next term from the little book Everyday Psychology by Prof Steve Edwards is ATMOSPHERE.
Prof Edwards provides the following saying, by Laurens van der Post: ‘Though atmosphere is intangible and indefinable, it is most important of all, since it makes the rain fall and the renewal of man and earth possible.’
He then comments: ‘Psychological atmosphere is difficult to study objectively. We all know the experience of feeling the atmosphere to be blue or like a brick wall, e.g. when facing an angry or hostile gathering. Alternatively, atmosphere may be warm, loving and caring, as is the case when entering a good friend’s home. Atmosphere in both the natural and psychological sense is a core concept in environmental psychology. It is a fact of our everyday interpersonal life.’
Next term: BECOMING …
Dr Steve’s words do remind me of the many changing moods and sensitivities which continually flow through the remarkable and contradictory ubuntu atmospheres of our lives.
Atmosphere is a difficult concept to grasp. One wonders how various cultures read various atmospheres in a multitude of different situations. How good or dangerous will it be if the incorrect conclusions are reached. Think of all the occasions where incorrect reading of an atmosphere occurs, and disaster follows.