Exploring the Awe of Color and Vitality - Mindful Living in July
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What is it that draws us to color? What emotion is stirred by a particular color? What thought first comes to mind when you see a particular color? How many colors of green are there in a forest? How do we view an artist’s palette? Where is the artist in you? How can we be free to create? What is a color you think of from childhood? What is a color you saw yesterday? What is a color you could celebrate today? What color calms you? What color triggers you? Do you have a favorite? What color is grief to you? Do you have a particular story for a particular color? What color is beauty? Why is the sky blue? What color schemes do you prefer in decorating your living space? How does color connect you with others? So many questions we can ask about color. So many thoughts and realms and ways of looking at color.
My heart’s intention in writing about color is to challenge us to expand our thinking—to enrich our awareness, to heighten our attention, to slow down and pay attention to the color (or lack of color) in our lives. How can we absorb and cherish the beauty and richness of color of an ordinary day? How can being mindful of color transfer ordinary into extraordinary? How does color factor into the vitality of your life?
How do our feelings and color integrate with one another? An exploratory practice to try with color and your feelings is to begin to notate how you are feeling “in color.” As you journal or reflect, think about what color might help you describe what you’re feeling. Maybe open a new crayon box and pick the color that matches your feeling. Try scribbling the feeling with that color. Then, maybe try changing colors, or draw more. Maybe take a picture of that color. Maybe purchase or pick a flower in the color you are connecting with. There is no perfect way to explore color and feelings. As we are discovering and exploring, it is a wonderful place to open our hearts and minds and play.
Playing with color is beautiful. From artists’ colors in Nepal…
To the memory of my Dad, who had Parkinson’s, painting at the Assisted Living art class…
To my coloring a feelings/color wheel of what was happening in my heart for the day at a Gifts of Imperfection workshop…
To our granddaughter’s coloring a love letter to Rogey…
When Roger was really struggling with the side effects of chemo/radiation, I would get up each morning and go sit outside for my routine time of meditation and prayer. However, during this time of grief, fear, and anxiety that I was struggling with, I found myself being drawn to take pictures of beautiful colors…the greens in the trees, the whites, creams, pinks in a magnolia, the variations in our silver lab’s beautiful coat (Sterling joins me in this time of refreshment each morning). Was that a coping mechanism of dealing with the pain? I just know that as I look back on the images that I photographed during that time, it is FULL of color. I like to think of it as a healing process. A balm of peace and beauty amidst the unknown, the mystery, the grief, the vulnerability of disease and pain.
Often in counseling, a client will struggle with describing how he/she is feeling. One resource that has been helpful for my clients and for me is a Feelings Wheel. You can Google “Feelings Wheel” to find various versions. The image captures the blending nature of emotions, in various shades of corresponding feelings. So, for instance I might say that I am angry, in the center circle…but really, maybe I am humiliated or frustrated, in the outer circles. Or, if a client reports they are sad on many occasions, we might look at the Feelings Wheel to explore the feeling in greater detail. Is it sadness they’re feeling? Is it loneliness? Is it inferiority? The Feelings Wheel is a wonderful tool to develop our feeling vocabulary. The journal that I wrote I'm Fine, a Real Feelings Journal, is also a wonderful place to write and draw and color and explore how you are feeling.
Feelings Wheel created by Robert Plutchik and adapted by Gloria Willcox.
In Dr. Brené Brown’s curriculum, The Daring Way,™ we discuss the color of shame in the workshops I facilitate as a way to understand the depth, meaning and impact of shame for each of us. Of course, the responses vary, but often we hear about puke green, sulfur grey, and poop brown. Isn’t it fascinating how the smell accompanies the color in participants’ responses? Black, grey, brown, and red are colors also often used to describe shame. Of course, there is no right or wrong in describing the color of an emotion for yourself. It is an intriguing process to look at the correlation of feelings and color.
What colors and feelings come to mind as you listen to a song? Does an
experience emerge from your past? A longing you are hoping for?
What songs come to mind when thinking of color? “Yellow Submarine,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Starry, Starry Night,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something, “Green-Eyed Lady,” “Brown-Eyed Girl”…
For today, cue the classic oldie, “Colour My World,” by the band Chicago. If you are unfamiliar with the song, you might choose to YouTube it to listen and enjoy. Maybe you recall it as a popular "slow dance" song at high school proms, dances and weddings. The song is notable as having only one verse and a beautiful flute solo.
Colour My World
“As time goes on
I realize
Just what you mean
To me
And now
Now that you're near
Promise your love
That I've waited to share
And dreams
Of our moments together
Color my world with hope of loving you”
What does it look like if we color our world with the hope of loving others deeply? Just this morning as I was playing this song in preparing to write this piece, Roger was sitting at the kitchen bar and looked up at me and smiled. I asked him if he wanted to dance and extended my arms. So, in our kitchen—me, barefoot and in my pajamas, Roger in his flip-flops, shorts and t-shirt—we danced to “Colour My World.” The feelings that swept over me were nothing like the times in the late 70’s when the song was popular of awkwardness and nervousness and anticipation of standing at a junior high Belles and Beaux or Stardusters dance and wondering if I would get asked to dance, or better yet if I would dance right or look right or be right. No, the feelings were of gratitude for the beauty of the song, for this moment, for this man. What a contrast between those days of discovering who we are…and the changes of this time! And yet, we are all still in days of discovery. How can we slow down and dance? How can we love one another fully? How can we Colour Our World with hope of loving others in an authentic way?
Recently at our lake cabin, our 3-year-old granddaughter and I were lying on the top bunk bed playing “The Favorite Game.” It was her invitation and idea to play so I was all in! We were asking each other the questions “What is your favorite toy, zoo animal, etc.…and in this moment, favorite color?” Her response: “purple.” My response: “turquoise.” “Yes, Lovey,” she said, “I think turquoise is beautiful.” A precious moment with an adorable little girl…taking a moment to talk about extraordinarily exquisite and important things, like our favorite colors.
Growing up with two sisters was always so much fun – what a gift to have built-in friends as sisters! We are so much alike and yet we are each so unique. As a “scientific” research project, I called my sisters recently to ask them their favorite color. I thought I knew but wanted to check my accuracy. Melinda’s response was as I had guessed: “I really don’t have a favorite, but I guess red because of all things Texas Tech.” I was on target with the first step of the research. Annette’s response was, “Why are you asking, I mean, don’t you know?” I told her I was just checking my accuracy. “Well, of course, my favorite color is and always has been purple,” she replied. Yes, I was definitely correct on that one! She had a purple bedspread, a purple bicycle, a purple parakeet, a purple birthday cake, and a purple bikini. “As a matter of fact,” Annette continued, “I’m writing with a purple pen as we speak.” I smiled. For me, turquoise is the color of choice. You might note that preference as you enter our home, you’ll see a deep turquoise velvet sofa and turquoise art by Sarah Luna. As unique individuals in a complex world, we each have our own different preferences and styles. What is your favorite color?
How do we notice and appreciate the color in our life? From recalling times in the past – maybe the smell of a brand-new crayon box for elementary school or opening our eyes in a new way today…. What could it look like to have a vivid view and deep appreciation of color?
Nature is an incredible place to start. The grey of a rainy day, the yellow of a sunrise or sunset, the blue of the sky with white puffy clouds, the verdant scene in the woods, the various and changing colors throughout the seasons are all moments to be in awe.
What if we lit a campfire? How many colors would we see in the flames dancing before us…purple, orange, yellow, blue, red, black?
The colors in fruits and vegetables are bountiful. Whether in a garden, local farmers’ market or our favorite grocery – what colors might we see? Maybe we could add “look at colors in produce aisle” to our next grocery shopping list.
The word vitality is relevant here. The definition of vitality is the capacity to live, grow or develop. As we open our arms to the dance of life, the appreciation of color is a refreshing, deepening and meaningful way to invite a healthy and holistic outlook to life. May we embrace the power and beauty of color with awe as we live, grow and develop today, in this very moment. May we go outside and soak in the warm, yellow sunshine (sparkle sunglasses optional)….
