14 April

We think we're a bit clever for religion these days, but the true message of Easter is much more profound than all the self-help, self-esteem, self-improvement and status-seeking we've replaced it with in our lives. Elizabeth Farrelly on the same theme: "Junichiro Tanizaki​ famously wrote of the depth and resonance brought to Japanese architecture – its textures and toilets and even tableware – by the creation and play of shadow. "The beauty of a Japanese room depends on a variation of shadows, heavy shadows against light shadows – it has nothing else. Westerners are amazed at the simplicity of Japanese rooms, perceiving in them no more than ashen walls bereft of ornament. Their reaction is understandable, but it betrays a failure to comprehend the mystery of shadows. Indeed, Western culture has pretty much devoted its post-Enlightenment centuries to abolishing shadow – pain, depth, mystery – in its bid to outwit death. Consider modernism's open plan, white wall, floor-to-ceiling glass and ultra-smooth materials. It was (is) a war on texture and interiority that evolved into a war on anything sad, recessive, quiet or still, and in turn, into a social media world where if you're anything other than excited (Facebook) or angry (Twitter) there's something seriously amiss."