“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain.
Summertime arrives, and many of us travel near and far, and that’s great. As our world gets smaller and smaller, and seemingly crazier, an escape, an adventure, a mind opening experience, a new path, all seem appropriate.
Find a new table in a new spot
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
The journey might be five minutes away or 5,000 miles-both count and both matter.
Spread your wings, fly, walk, run, ride (whatever is your pleasure) and discover your destination.
(Note-background is from the series of illustration backgrounds that I am creating for Book #2 – Working Title of Garden Bud – stay tuned!)
YES! Colors are the secret ingredient to Spring time! We are coming out of our winter shells and happy for the promises Spring can bring. If you think about it as a larger frame, all the pieces fit perfectly.
The meaning of the color indigo reflects great devotion, wisdom, and justice along with fairness and impartiality. It is a defender of people’s rights to the end. (Blue Berries and Blue flowers are popping out)
The meaning of the color pink is unconditional love and nurturing. In color psychology, pink is a sign of hope. It is a positive color inspiring warm and comforting feelings, a sense that everything will be okay. (Pink Blooms ALL around, especially in this location with the beautiful Cherry Trees, RedBuds, and dogwoods!)
The color white is the color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection. The psychological meaning of white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. (White flowers abound: Lily of the Valley, Snowdrops, my front yard has beautiful white camellia blooms- just to name a few.)
The color green relates to balance and harmony. From a color psychology perspective, it is the great balancer of the heart and the emotions, creating equilibrium between the head and the heart. (ALL the shades of green, especially that new lush green as leaves begin to unfold-it’s hard to beat that!)
The color red is a warm and positive color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive. It exudes a strong and powerful masculine energy. (Flowers of azaleas, poppies, and tulips are what come to my mind!)
Even though I don’t have a pix – how could we possibly not mention YELLOW! The color yellow relates to acquired knowledge. It is the color which resonates with the left or logic side of the brain stimulating our mental faculties and creating mental agility and perception. (Blooms of the Daffs and the forsythias! )
Put it all together, and you have wisdom, fairness, unconditional love, hope, perfection, wholeness, balance, harmony, mental agility topped of with our will to survive! It’s little wonder Spring busting out all around feels so good!
Times they are a changing… The weather, the earth, the world….it’s enough to make my head spin!
Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you Is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin
Dylan famously goes on to write the next verse about writers and critics, followed by politicians, with the last stance about mothers and fathers. So timely!
The times certainly are ‘a-changing’, Bob Dylan is now the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for literature—first time for lyrics, as opposed to a novel. It was said that it is “perhaps the most radical choice in a (Noble Peace Prize) history stretching back to 1901.” (reason #1)
Spring brings Easter, Passover and I am sure there are other holidays of spring renewals that I don’t even know. Spring is busting out with colors- greens, yellows, pinks and red splashes all around! (reason #2) I’ve been thinking a lot about changing, or ‘reinventions’ as I am now trying to call, and view, all the changes. As a child the world is always changing, we are continually learning, and trying all different hats, paths, and ways all the time. That’s a good thing. As an adult constant learning and forward motion is still a good thing. That said-constant change is not easy. However, I hope I never stop learning and exploring. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat. Curiosity does keep the soul, mind, and body alive! (reason #3)
For myself, all these ‘reinventions’ are global as well as very personal. It feels like a spinning top at a dizzying speed. How about you?
…and speaking of changes… A new kind of Botanical Beauties has come to town! I’m having fun with flowers in new ways (reason #4.) Stay tuned as we see together what and how this develops.
There’s a new bird in town! Click on the image to see it larger.
Feeling a bit soggy? Here are a few ideas of ways to make a rainy day better.
Zoie – Spring Rain
Don’t think of it as cold wet water: Think SPRING FLOWERS! 💐🌿🌻🌸
Here’s a list of ideas for spring shower happiness.
💦 Pretend you are two years old and go splash in puddles-I know a very special little one that this works well for!
💦 Enjoy some artwork. Galleries, museums, or exhibits are all luxurious and wonderful places to forget it’s raining outside.
💦 There’s always the movies.
💦 Meet a friend for a cup, or glass, of whatever makes you smile.
💦 Plan a rain barrel for your garden, then the next time it rains you will be receiving bonus water!
💦 Gray is much better than black. Look outside-gray is probably everywhere and Mother Nature is usually is pretty smart! Maybe Gray still is the new black?
💦 Gray is a subdued and quiet color so crawl into that: Tuck yourself in and enjoy a good read with a hot cup of tea/coffee. Or just nap!
💦 Remember that rain is not frozen, or slippery, and it requires no shoveling.
💦 Learn new things. For instance- Did you know that the iconic crayon color, Dandelion, will be retiring? To send him off in style, Crayola is taking him on a 4-week retirement tour! VERY clever marketing and fun to watch. Here’s the link. https://youtu.be/WSBaRK1BM3Q (BYW – today 3/31/17 is National Crayon Day…who knew?)
AND OF COURSE – there is always “Singing in the Rain” with Gene Kelly!
