The Blues

(Blue Mummer. Photo by Robin. 2007)

I’d venture to guess we’ve all had them at one time or another: The Blues. I was curious as to where the term came from because usually when I have the blues it’s more like the grays, lacking in color and oomph. It seems that in English we call it the blues because blue is related to rain and rain was considered the tears of the gods (or God/dess, as the case may be).

I love the color blue in all it’s shades. It is not my favorite color, but it is an extremely close second.

(Hydrangea. Photo by Robin. June 2007)

Brown

(Visiting friends. Photo by Robin. June 2007)

Of all colors, brown is the most satisfying. It is the deep, fertile tint of the earth itself; it lies hidden beneath every field and garden; it is the garment of multitudes of earth’s children, from the mouse to the eagle.

~ Mary Webb, The Spring of Joy, 1917

I discovered a sort of irony to brown as I began this entry. I think of it as a very earthy and comforting color. A color with lots of warmth. But when I started sorting through photos, the first place I looked was through the late fall, winter, and early spring scenes. Although brown appears frequently during the warmer months (especially during a drought), it’s often hidden in the landscape by the brilliant greens, reds, yellows, oranges, blues, and purples. What I think of as a warm color comes into its own during the colder months.

(Reflections. Photo by Robin. 2006)

Red

(Flower at Longwood Gardens. Photo by Robin. June 2007)

The color red has not always been one of my favorites. In fact, it moves in and out of favor with me depending on how it manifests in my life. At this time in my life I often associate it with hot flashes and the color of my skin when my internal thermostat is malfunctioning and I’m heated from within. Or without, on hot days such as today.

Red is the color of my face when I’m embarrassed. I’ve been teased for that for as long as I can remember because I blush easily. Very easily. Red was the color of my hair when I was born. Red is the color of my skin after about 20 minutes in the sun without sunscreen. Red is not a color I’m likely to wear because it brings out all of my natural red coloring.

I often think I have an overabundance of red in my life. But red isn’t all bad and there are times when I’m attracted to it and find it delightful.

Yellow

(Field of dandelions. Photo by Robin. 2006)

I’ve always thought of yellow as a happy color. The color of sunshine and summer, lemons, buttercups, dandelions, and sunflowers. Bright yellow just POPS right out at you, as if the yellow object is lit from within. In some cultures yellow is associated with happiness and peace. The Buddha wore yellow robes after Enlightenment.

(Buttercups. Photo by Robin. 2007)

The initial explosion

(Fireworks. Photo by Robin. 2006)

Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to a soul in a thousand different ways.

~ Oscar Wilde

The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most.

~ John Ruskin

The human being is played upon by various influences at various stages of his life in the body. We all know what climate and music will do to create different moods, but one factor often not understood or neglected is the influence of colour. It is always there in our surroundings, in a room, apartment, or house, in our clothing and in our furnishings. It can contribute towards health or take away from it; it can cheer up or depress the emotions; it can invigorate or devitalize the body; it can give pleasure to the eyes or irritate them.

~ Paul Brunton

A favorite of mine

(Crayolas. Photo by Robin. June 2007)

Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air — explode softly — and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth — boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn’t go cheap, either — not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.

~ Robert Fulghum

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. It brings to mind a variety of things at a variety of times.

Today when I stumbled across it again it reminded me of colors and how lucky we are to have so many colors in life.

With that in mind, I’m going to do a small series on color, mostly because I think it would be a fun thing to do, a way to cover the world with a little of my imagination.

The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.

~ Hans Hofmann

Life by the pond

(Green frog by the pond. Photo by Robin. 2006)

An old pond
a frog jumps in
Sound of water

– Matsuo Basho

Another old post revisited.

Little things

(Photo by Robin. 2006)

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~ Robert Brault

Ain’t that the truth?

It’s the little things that tend to excite me, bring me joy, or make me feel content with life. It’s the little things that can throw off a day, too.

Little things I enjoy:

• My granddaughter (of course she’s on the top of my list!)
• Holding hands with my husband
• Hugs
• A good laugh
• Spotting an unusual (to me) wildflower or mushroom while hiking/walking
• A long, hot shower
• Sitting on the beach, watching the waves roll in
• Time to read a good book
• Cooking a delicious meal
• Taking a few moments each day to do a gratitude list, mentally or by writing it down
• The Best Socks in the Universe (might as well link to them since, like it or not, it’s usually my top entry)
• My favorite comfy cotton hoodie
• A cool breeze on a hot day
• A cup of tea, any kind of tea
• A good conversation with my sons
• Deep, deep breaths, the kind that go right down to my toes (I can do that now that I don’t smoke)
• Smoke-free environments
• The scent of fresh air that wafts through the apartment when I open the windows
• Listening to the spring peepers at night
• Watching fireflies in the summer
• Picnics
• Snow
• Rain
• Sunshine
• Moonlight
• Watching someone I love enjoy themselves in some activity
• Sitting quietly, being in the moment
• Walking barefoot in dewy grass
• Letting the colors of a sunrise or sunset wash over me
• Floating in the pond
• The sound of thousands of bees buzzing in the wildflower meadow

Well, this could go for a very long time (and it’s sounding a little like one of those dating things: “I enjoy long walks on the beach, picnics in the park…”). Some of these things aren’t really little things, either (my granddaughter, for instance, may be young and small in stature but she’s a big deal in my life).

Let’s make this an interactive post.  I know there are people out there reading.  Time to speak up.  What are some of the little things in life you enjoy?

Joy (3)

(Yosemite. Photo by Robin. 2006)

And we who have always thought of joy as rising, would feel the emotion that almost amazes us when a happy thing falls. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Watching the rain

(Rain on the window.  Photo by Robin)

A promise is a cloud; fulfillment is rain. ~Arabian Proverb

11 March 2012 update:  I’ve been wanting to once again write small stones to go with my images, but haven’t been able to find the time because of traveling, gardening, and life in general.  This week I am going to work on getting things in order so I can set aside the time as if I have a very important appointment.

In the meantime, I’ll release a few more posts from the private files.  (A couple of years ago I made almost all the posts on this blog private.  I’ve been wanting to switch them back to public, but don’t like to do it all at once since it means an email goes out to subscribers every time I switch one over.  There are about 700 private posts.  Nobody wants 700 emails from one blog.)