Color which like music, is a matter of vibrations, reaches what is most general and therefore most indefinable in nature: its inner power.
Paul Gauguin
Just like “the inner power of nature” radiates and vibrates color, so can we be the providers of color to our own lives if we look for opportunities. There are many ways that we can make our lives and those of others colorful rather than colorless. We can seek the vibrant, purposeful, brilliant, translucent, effervescent spectrums within us rather than settle for opaque, dull, incurious and paddocked states of mind.
Colors are not fixed in time or space and nor are we. Just like diamonds that are for the most part colorless when not tinged with other hues, so can we reflect and color our world with a multitude of luminous tones – evanescent, rainbow-tinged life-experiences. Like artist Paul Klee, we can also unite ourselves with color – if we choose to do so. Klee said: “Color possesses me…Color and I are one. I am a painter.” (Quotes About Creativity) And you, too, can stir and mix the many potential colorations of your life into unexpected shades of vibrancy, integrating them, one alchemic brushstroke after another, into your habitual thinking.
There are however certain things we might try to do in order to enhance the luminosity of our lives such as creating, cultivating and habituating our own positive modes of thinking – and action. We might choose to allow brightness instead of gloom to be the dominant part of who we are and resolutely keep negative people at bay. We can learn from Spunktaneous when he responds to the Drooma who are attacking him in THE WORLD OF GLIMPSE:
“Through Extrawsion, Spunktaneous, we will slurp up your green…”
“My greenicity – never! Color suckers,” said Spunktaneous. That’s all you are. Spectroscopic parasites! Color your world yourselves! I’m not available. Goodbye!”
NO-COLOR LAND
No-Color Land:
Bland.
Same.
Tame.
No color with a name.
Blue, green, yellow, white?
Nowhere in sight.
Black, brown, pink, red?
Not a color in my head.
Indigo, blue, purple, peach?
They’re all anaemic bleach!
What a wash-out of a dream!
I welcome morning’s color scheme.
(I TOUCHED A STAR IN MY DREAM LAST NIGHT)
Can you imagine a world without rainbow colors – without red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, and without that beautiful violet-purple at its end? British novelist and playwright Dorothy Sayers said: “The worst sin – perhaps the only sin – passion can commit is to be joyless.”
I discuss the feelings of joy I experience when creating in HAVE YOU EVER HAD A HUNCH: The Importance of Creative Thinking:
“Ever since I was a child, I have felt an anticipatory excitement before beginning something creative. Even today, my fingers still literally tingle before I start, and this sensation is usually accompanied by feelings of joy, expectation and optimism. It would be hard for me to be severed from the creative process.” And therefore, I will continue to imagine, paint and write about fantastical, luminous, joyful worlds of brilliant colors – environments replete with flowing hues! How about you?
This very morning when I opened my laptop, there as my screensaver was a photo of the most ‘fantastical, luminous’ brilliantly coloured Toucan–from the Pantanal at the very heart of South America–that you could imagine! His beak, about the size of the rest of his body, grades vibrantly upwards from red, through orange and yellow to a thin strip of violet. The tip and near end of the beak, the ring about his eye and much of his body glow in various shades of stunning blue! There occur some 40 species of toucan, having evolved over the past couple of million years, adding wondrous colour to our most beautiful of all possible worlds!
Thanks to Microsoft for feeding through these images, a new one every second day or so, from the corners of our wonderful Earth–from Alpine Snow-scape to Tropical Pacific Island, to Toucan or Penguin! Every time a new picture appears, Ellen, I think of your most excellent video ‘Our Earth, Our Choice’ (of 2018)–inspired by Edward O. Wilson’s seminal book ‘Half Earth, our planet’s fight for life’ (of 2016).
Their Pantanal Toucan appeared in seeming celebration of our ‘fantastical, luminous’ family events of the past couple of days. On Saturday, here at our home, we–17 of us, mostly family–held a 10-course luncheon for Caitlyn Rose (of LonderLand) who turns 10 on 17 April. And yesterday, Sunday, we (14 of us) held a special gourmetten brunch for her brother William John (of ChritopherRobinLand) who turns eight in September. They are out from London with their mom and dad for Easter!
‘Chosing Colour in our World’!
Another encouraging article for all of us to be joyfully colorful: to choose to be exuberant, upbeat, self-motivated doers…contrasted with having a “padlocked state of mind”….now there’s a strong image! John Anderson’s response sounded so delightfully spontaneous and positive. There he was sharing his reactions; to the Microsoft toucan on his screen, to your meaningful original art and video “Our Earth, Our Choice”, and to his family gathering….all of which are a reflection of the way he embraces the positive and beautiful things he sees in life. Your words encourage your readers to take the time to appreciate what’s around us that deserves recognition.
thank you as always Ellen and I love Paul Klee
Jill and John – what wonderful responses! Without a doubt, neither of you have “opaque, dull, incurious and paddocked states of mind” but instead, ones that are continually curious, luminous and marvelously connected to the beauty of our world.