Nighttime

Nighttime

Want to know one of my favorite times of day? Nighttime. Here is why.

The daytime is very nice too. Bright lights, sunshine, and it’s very warm most days during the summer. Nighttime however is something special. Time to go way back and understand the benefits of nighttime.

Everyone has their own experiences relating to the topic, here is how I see it in the experience of nighttime.

• Dark
• Stars
• Quiet
• Crickets
• City Lights
• Crashing Waves

We lived on this island; several miles away from the city of Seattle. Though far away, we can still see the space needle from the shore. When I was a toddler, my mom would take me on a small joyride in her car and we would go by the shore of the island and look at the city at night. That would be the last thing I want to see before falling asleep. Worked every time when I needed to sleep. Just a trip to look at the city lights and all lights will be out; falling asleep and not wanting to open my eyes until morning. Next to the visual aid, I believe the ambiance of the car sound helped a whole lot; These days since then, I love the sound of a revving car engine before a race.

Crashing waves. I paid close attention to the waves at the beach. Curious as to where the waves were coming from and where they crash on the beach. Better at night because of the moonlight reflecting on the ocean. The ripples have been quite calming to look at; Texture just looks pretty to me with the moon and the waves causing the ripple effect.

Crickets have been common around the area I’ve been living in. Crickets and frogs too. They never felt too loud or annoying. Mostly because I have always loved all of the animals and insects and bugs of the world. Crickets do provide a natural lullaby at night; it’s wonderful! I can't imagine anyone eating them. Seriously though, I see them in the local candy shop. Anyway, I hear the crickets chirping mostly at night. Can’t really hear them during the day.

Dark and quiet. Nothing much to look at, nothing much to listen to. It is all okay. Nothing bright other than the moon and a few city lights off in the distance. I made a note about how many children with autism would prefer the more simpler stuff and nothing way too complex. Blank sheet of paper over a portrait full of circles for example. That is why in the dark and quiet night, it is a perfect opportunity to recharge from the stimulated world.

Movies and video games are so good when in the dark at night, though oftentimes the choice in those sources of entertainment were pretty limited. G rated and E rated goodness. Not just that, but like how long we watch the movies and play the games. Just how I was raised. A lot of times, I just enjoy being in my room and playing with toys. Not much sound coming from the toys most of the time; Fun to play during the nighttime. Now that I think about it, I have always enjoyed the quiet because loud noises back then were very challenging. Not anymore today, even though I enjoy the quiet for the most part, especially when I am working on something work related or hobby related. Pretty sure that is like a lot of people when I say that preferring the quiet over the noise. To me, daytime has been the noisiest time of day while nighttime is the quietest time of day.

Stars! My favorite source of light next to the moon. Nothing too complicated up there, just specks of light in the sky with no specific patterns. I immediately will take that back because I have just realized that there are these things called constellations. Became so fascinated with the constellations at school that I tried my best to find the patterns in the night sky.

There is always something about autism and stimulus. Don’t want to have too much action just yet, stick to something more simple and boring. That is how I see it. Go with the black and white cartoons before upgrading it all into color. Think that can be somewhat similar to the nighttime and daytime. Nighttime can be a lot easier while day is a bit more challenging, and every challenge can be hard but never impossible to take on.
In its own way, it can make sense when you visualize it in a way that is something like this:

Stick to the dark, and then in time, he or she will come out to be a part of the light.