Living as we do on one of the five Great Lakes in the northern part of the country, we aren’t really done with winter until the first or second week of May. However, when the blackbirds start arriving in the backyard and the sunrises shift westward in the sky at later and later hours of the day, it seems like we might be in the full throes of spring. And then you wake up on a Saturday morning like today and there is a blanket of white all over the place. Winter returns to say, not so fast!
If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that nature was thumbing its nose at my decision to include the phrase ‘color spectrum’ in this week’s topic for the weekly twitter chat. As I stepped out onto the deck to take some photos of the whiteness, there was a stillness in the forest and there was minimal bird activity in the mid-morning coldness. And yet, from what seemed to be coming from the street on the other side of the woods, was the sound of the laughter of children at play. I surmised that a bunch of kids must be playing in the snow, making snowmen and such.
As it turned out, I was only party correct about kids playing in the snow. They were all rollicking in the clubhouse parking lot next-door, taking part in the community Easter egg hunt in the middle of a couple of inches of snow! It was quite a sight to behold young kids and their parents, all dressed up in their winter-coats, scarves and gloves, opening colorful plastic eggs filled with candy on a snowy Saturday morning. The joy and delight on the kids’ faces transported me back to the ‘festival of colors’ that we neighborhood kids used to so look forward to in mid-March in India.
Yes. Color has a special way of affecting our lives, doesn’t it? We all have our favorite colors and they manifest in so many different ways in our lives, don’t they? The clothes we wear, the decor and flooring and paints we choose in our homes, the cups we drink our tea or coffee in, the cars we drive, the foods and fruits we eat, the flowers we plant, and so on. In addition, a particular color can mean vastly different things in different cultures. White is the color of mourning in India, whereas the same white is often chosen by brides in the western world.
Our choices in colors often seems to convey the individual energy signature of our lives. The color spectrum of our life often changes according to the season, whether we are at work or at home or on vacation, and so on. In some sense, white, the combination of all colors of the spectrum, is on one end; black, the apparent absence of all color, the perfect absorber and radiator, is at the other end of the spectrum. In the vast expanse between white and black, as if emulating our feelings and emotions, life’s color wheel is full of complementary and contrasting colors, isn’t it?
If we want peace and harmony in our lives, perhaps we could be well served by learning to celebrate the spectrum of colors that represent different faiths, traditions, cultures, peoples and more in this world of ours. I invite you to share your favorite color with me. I also invite you to find out your neighbor’s favorite color, and celebrate it.
Namaste, and happy Holi!
Kumud
Join us for our weekly gathering and twitter chat, Sunday March 24 at 9amET / 1pmGMT / 630pm India as we share on “Life’s Color Spectrum” in #Spiritchat. Namaste ~ @AjmaniK
Many are the colors of the heart… and yet they all meld into One…
Ready? Q1. “Life’s Color Spectrum” ~ how does this phrase speak to your sense of sight,
your heart in this moment? Do share. 🌈 #SpiritChat
Q2. Think of a favorite color (or color palette)... how does (or did) it manifest or
show up in your daily life? 🌈 #SpiritChat
Q3. Consider one (or more) of these colors... how do they affect you and your energy level...
cyan? magenta? yellow? 🌈 #SpiritChat
Q4. ‘The truly wise person is colorblind - Albert Schweitzer’ ~ in what context(s) may this
be true? why so? 🙏🏽 🌈 #SpiritChat
Q5. Life instance(s) where you paid attention to the ‘color of their heart.’
What happened next? What did you learn? 🌈 #SpiritChat
Q6. What may we learn from those who often tend to see life in 'black and white?'
Do consider. #colors 🙏🏽 🌈 #SpiritChat
Q7. Complementary colors tend to create _____ ; and contrasting colors create _______ in a
community's palette. Do fill in the colors :) 🌈 #SpiritChat
Final Q8. Final Q8. Some individual actions that may be necessary... for ‘full spectrum color appreciation’ in our world... Do share. Namaste. 🌈 #SpiritChat
The #SpiritChat Community 
A rainbow is not by chance. As Mary Oliver puts it so well, “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Even the appearing full moon tonight, officially tomorrow, appears to have colors when we look closely. The world, especially nature is a riot of colors,
“The sky was a riot of colours, the empty void of night replaced by the risings lazy hazy oranges and resplendent reds.” Fox Brison
Now I must go see what else she has penned.
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“Riot of colors” is such a perfect description of the sky in the daytime… and the nighttime sky is a different kind of ‘color spectrum’ ~ thank you for sharing this poem and passing color to this post, Gary. Namaste.
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