Live Inspired
Inspirational Color Quote of the Week: Colors Yellow, Blue and Just About Everything Else The Many Colors of the Middle “People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and its ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darknesses. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them. ” --― Markus Zusak (Author, The Book Thief) What do you think? He’s right. We think so much about sun rises and sun sets. Beginnings and endings. No doubt those are important. Whether it’s about colors or just about anything else, they deserve special attention. Hey, What surprise will the new day bring? What is my next adventure? What good things will come along if I take a risk and enter the new relationship? And on the otherside, what did this day have to teach me? What were the most important learnings from the activity I just completed? Exactly which questions we ask or in what specific ways we choose to focus on the beginnings and endings matters less than the actual focus itself. And remember what we think of as a beginning or an ending isn’t limited to those big life changing events (marriages, job changes). It’s also the smaller wins and sometimes losses of our day. And hey as important as these starts and finishes (however we choose to define them) are, there’s more to the middle. That’s where we literally spend most of our time. It’s where most of the action is, and it’s where the process matters; where you really need to follow through on the plan of action to create your goals and where the rubber meets the road. It’s also as Mr. Zusak reminds us, where how you feel about things can change from minute to minute. Yes, the Physical colors of any scene can change more than we expect; What about the changing colors as you walk down a street? Go through a mall? Poke around websites on the internet? Even more, the emotional colors. One minute you’re frustrated; the next you’ve figured things out; the next you’re relaxing and enjoying the day. Ok, the colors offered up by Mr. Zusak don’t exactly seem the happiest: Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darkness. Can’t we fit in some bright orange? Some sky blue? Some rainbows of multi-colored light? After all if a day consists of all these colors and feelings, let’s appreciate the darker ones but let’s leave as much room as we can for the brighter ones too. So the beginnings and endings matter a lot. They deserve special recognition. But in ways that we don’t often take time to appreciate, Mr. Zusak is right; “a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations.” You sure leave out a lot if you don’t recognize the many colors of the middle and all the wonderful ways they can shift a change. How do these ideas resonate with you, and what are one or two actions you might want to take in the next day or so on that basis?
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Live Inspired!!
Inspirational Color Quote of the Week: Color Citrine (and other colors) Connecting The Diverse Dots “The jeweler allows me to wear sapphire blue lake on my finger, emerald green leaves around my neck, and take the citrine sunset with me wherever I go. Jewelry has become my daytime link to nature in an office with no windows. And if I have to work late, there's nothing like diamond stars and a pearl full moon against an onyx night sky. --Astrid Alauda (author; "Office With No Windows," 2005) What do you think? What images come to mind? What wonderful creativity from Astrid Alauda to connect two on-the-surface very different worlds. There’s the world we stereotypically associate with fashion, adornment, sociability an indoor activity, and there’s the natural world out there in which we get outdoors, get our hands dirty and perhaps get away from the exigencies of every day people and everyday life. And yet, what do these two seemingly disparate worlds have in common? For author Astrid Alauda, the answer has to do with color, and she evocatively reminds us of the wide range of color to be found in both worlds. And how beautiful are the images and the connections she draws. It’s not just blue; it’s sapphire blue. It’s not just green; it’s emerald green. and it’s a beautiful citrine sunset. In terms of that which the jeweler has created, it’s not just wearing a sapphire; it’s thinking of that sapphire in terms of a sapphire blue lake. It’s not just an emerald but the emerald green so evocative of leaves and grass, and it’s not just citrine but a beautiful citrine sunset. Astrid Alauda’s rich imagery hooks you in. The different worlds she inhabits are full of metaphor and color, and her imaginative metaphors shows you she’s an incredibly keen observer. In the end, she’s found an intriguing and tangible way to link the diverse things that are so important to her. She uses her varied and colorful jewelry to help her transfer the setting of her office without windows and provide the reminders of the outdoors that she finds so inspiring. All she has to do is take the simple action of checking out her personal jewels, and wherever she is, she’s also right there amidst the beauty of the natural world, which she so clearly loves. In what couple of ways might you follow Astrid Alauda’s example, making connections between disparate areas in your own life to contribute to a more fully integrated whole? How do these ideas resonate with you, and what are one or two actions you might want to take this week on that basis? |
AuthorI am a Life Coach, a Color Wisdom Card Practitioner, and yes, even a Professor (political science, State University of New York at Albany). I use the Color Wisdom Cards to support clients in exploring priorities and taking concrete actions to stay on track with the goals they set. Because in my own life I have overcome a lot of self-doubt, I want to work with people towards more confidence and self-empowerment. You can do it! What is it you want to do? Categories
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June 2021
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