Oxytocin

Another piece of graffiti that always takes my fancy. Doesn't seem your average graffiti. It's an unusual word.

As I understand it 'oxytocin' is the happiness hormone. I first became aware of it when breast-feeding my kids. I'd read that when the baby latches on and milk draws down, oxytocin is produced. I certainly felt the most intense happiness when breastfeeding my kids - I had the baby pinks, or reds even, not the baby blues. I'm not denying the baby blues, indeed my heart goes out to anyone experiencing that and I'm not saying breast-feeding wasn't without it's trials or pains or exhaustion BUT oxytocin was definitely part of my experience - a dominant and lasting part.

That someone chose to document the power of oxytocin as graffiti, heartens me.

It also looks to me like someone put up the layer of plaster with the intention of making the art. I might be reading this wrong and rather the graffiti artist found a nice clean patch of plaster and decided to put their creation there but my interpretation is the former.

This piece is on Leith Links, as you come off the Portobello path and join the Links. The brick wall borders the cricket club or allotments - I forget exactly. As I cycle past, I'm usually feeling pretty joyful at that point, the oxytocin flowing, I smile conspriatorially in my imagination with whomever created this one. We both know what they were on about.

Happiness.

Edit: remembered oxytocin is the love drug more than the happiness one. Oh well, they are closely connected.