The Joy of Color

Hello Friends!

I hope you are beginning to feel Spring slowly creeping in.  I have been spending as much time soaking up the sunshine as I can, while I worked on this week's ruminations.

I had a hard time with this one.  COLOR is this huge subject that can go in so many directions, I had almost begun to think I had chosen the wrong subject. 

I commissioned a piece of artwork for the cover of my book.  The only direction that I gave the artist was that it had to be "joyful" looking.  She asked me what color that was and I answered immediately, yellow.  But it got me thinking...what color is joy?

I've posed the question to several people. I posted it on Linked In, facebook, even twitter.  I got answers all over the board.  Some surprised me - blue and deep purple.  While others were merely intriguing ...a rainbow of color, rainbows represent joy.

There is obviously no right or wrong answer to the question.  The question is, why are you asking? 

Color plays such an important role in life.  We use color to describe our moods, "feeling blue, green with envy, in the pink, the mean reds (for you Breakfast at Tiffany's fans)".  But, color is everywhere.  The most pervasive color in nature is green.  It is the color of the heart chakra.  It is the color that represents abundance.  For one friend of mine a vibrant green was his color for joy.

I watched a movie the other night with another friend.  The movie took place in India.  It was a riot of color.  Color is so important there that they actually have a Color Day.  People were literally throwing handfuls of color at one another!  It was amazing!

I had the pleasure of going to the museum of nature and science recently.  The thing that kept leaping out at me was how amazingly colorful nature was!  Green, blue, red, yellow, even fuschia birds from all over the world, in the same place as the gem & mineral rooms full of stones of every color imaginable.  That's when it hit me ~ the reason joy is so many colors to us is because the world is full of so many colors!  The rainbow comment made a lot more sense.  How can you choose one color?  Each one is more wonderful and rich than the last. 

When you describe people that are non-caucasian, they are described as "people of color".  The reality is, everyone is a person of color.  We are different shades and hues of browns, pinks and beiges.  Everyday we get dressed and depending, we'll choose clothes to reflect our mood or our surroundings.  When I lived in NYC, I wore A LOT of black.  It had become a running joke in my family.  I realized part of what I was doing was reflecting my surroundings.  Since moving, my wardrobe has lightened up considerably and I choose color more often.  In fact, if my day is starting out a little grey and low, I'll choose a bright color to lift my mood.

I am about to move to the Pacific Northwest.  A dear friend of mine suggested that I get umbrellas in every color because those might be the only bright spot I have in my days.  I told her that my "sunny disposition" would help get me through.  But, I think a bright yellow umbrella could be a lot of fun!

So, my friends I challenge you to look around you.  Are you feeling a little low?  The bright sunshine and Spring flowers haven't quite arrived yet.  Now would be the perfect time to add a bit of color to your day.  Paint a wall, buy new towels for your bathroom, buy some flowers for your table/your desk...anything to add more color to your life.  Take your cue from Nathan Lane's character in Birdcage ~ "One does need a hint of color".