Adding a splash of colour

I love the colours of teal and coral. An unlikely combination, yet the kingfisher has feathers of teal and coral.

In colour psychology, teal heals the emotions and signifies trustworthiness,  reliability and commitment. It is a colour that recharges us during times of mental stress and tiredness, alleviating feelings of loneliness. The colour coral symbolises energy, warmth and joy. It is associated with characteristics such as homey, welcoming, excitement or adventure.

So as the time has come to give the exterior of our house a new coat of paint, teal walls and  coral doors won hands down over the original grey.

I would like to see our lives as a spectrum of colours. When I made my first trip to London in 1982, I had a 7R photograph of myself in jeans and an anorak at the changing of the guard. As computer graphics were non-existent then, I used the letter set dry transfers to print the words on the photo - ‘Colour my world in technicolour’.

Colours reflect our experiences, moods and passage of development. When we are exuberant, we burst into colour. Our days are radiant and bright with beautiful prints – the entrance into university, the first job, the first child. When we are trapped in sad situations our days are grey and the world is black – the failure, the retrenchment, the break-up. Yet, we take comfort in the proverb that ‘this too will pass’.

Colours also reflect our perception of things. It is so true that when I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a woman, I put the ways of childhood behind me. But sad to say, some of us are arrested in our own development as we refuse to let go of negative experiences and emotions that continue to grip us.

I remember during my first year in Ireland, I continually made a mental assessment and comparison of this country and the country where I was born. It is not unusual that I would say ‘In Malaysia, we would do this and we would do that….’ It was the soul trying to make sense of the new while appreciating the old and the familiar. The meandering, laid back pace of the countryside was a vast contrast to the fast-pace of city living where efficiency, promptness and reliability meant observing time frames.

I used to watch in amusement  when the customer and the cashier chatted about the weather and who had died recently while the rest of us waited in queue to pay for our groceries. I also had to consciously remember that the post office and the bank closed during lunch hours. In short, I would see red.

Now I watch with empathy when the customer and the cashier chatted about the weather and who had died recently while the rest of us wait in queue. I think that the cashier has loads of patience when she hears the little old lady muttering about her daily endeavours. I think the little old lady must have felt good to have someone listen to her daily endeavours. When she fumbles for her debit card to pay for the groceries, and the cashier says, ‘Take your time, there’s no rush. Whenever you are ready’, I think that is kind and I notice that there is a fuzzy glow of warm orange within me.

There is an elderly crowd here and even in their 80s and 90s, their minds are as bright as a button. Maybe it is because of the freshness of the natural surroundings, maybe it is because they take the time to soak in the colours of living and learning.

It is a pity that with massive development in the city the skyline is no longer what it used to be. Beautiful heritage houses give way to skyscrapers and green lungs and pristine forests vanish as lucrative plantations and condominiums encroach into them.

I have learnt to enjoy the blue of the sky, the purple of the lavender and the green of the fields. Just when I watch my children grow and fly the nest, I am thankful that I am surrounded by people who care for me and  I have learnt to live life.

As I look at Tony the painter put the final touches of teal and coral on the house,  Michael and I will have a new splash of colour in our lives. The old is gone, and the new has come.

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/adding-a-splash-of-colour-to-life-1.327868?