Based on PositivelyPresent.com’s Gratitude Challenge I will reflect on some of these topics, without any particular timeline, let alone the goal to complete the whole list.
The Gratitude Challenge’s third topic is “Color”.
When I recently told someone on a halloween party that my favorite color is purple, he said “I noticed that people whose favorite color is purple are quite vocal about it“. I found this a funny but also exposing statement. In my experience puple is not such a popular favorite color as are for example blue or red. I did not choose purple for this reason, but in times when everyone wants to be “special”, it feels kind of good to have a “different” favorite color. Of course, you could argue that this is quite hypocritical, but it does not do harm to anyone – isn’t it nice to feel happy just because of a specific color?
I do not wear purple clothes all that often (but I do have purple socks, shirts, ties, t-shirts, shoes, scarves…), yet I do choose purple for other objects, such as my umbrella, blanket, my sleeping bag, my Firefox color scheme… My favorite Chinese character is the one for purple. I’m certainly biased because of its meaning, but I do think the character itself looks elegant, fragile yet sophisticated and also kind of cute: 紫.
As a child I preferred blue, but many years ago – I do not remember why – it switched. While we certainly should not over-interpret, I do think that a favorite color says something about our character. Quoting from the highly scientific source BetterHelp.com:
Many people who have the preference as purple have several purple things whether they be pens, pencils, and shirts. This is because purple can be used to express individuality because of its deep roots to royalty. People whose favorite is purple are generally unique and want to stand out.
Discover What Your Favorite Color Really Says About You
Just as everyone else I care how others think of me, but I never really cared to fully fit in and I celebrate individuality.
When I take photos I often choose a black and white filter. It feels a bit like cheating because many photos automatically look more artsy when turned into B/W, but in the real world I am certainly happy and grateful that I can see and choose from different colors.
Whenever I visit indigenous tribes somewhere in Latin America or Asia I am reminded of how colorful we could dress and how simple and almost boring our clothes are in the so-called “developed world”. Why is that? Is our world so complicated that we need to make it at least simple what we wear? Isn’t it rather the opposite, that colors bring so much beauty into our life? Just think of a colorful traditional dress, an autumn forest, the buzzing life of nightly neon signs, the many shades of a red evening sky, the different colors of a rainbow or of a chirping bird…
Compare this with the monotone and somehow “dead” pictures we see from other planets. Isn’t it amazing how much diversity we have on our earth? How different colors influence our mood and how we can express our mood in the colors we choose for our outfit? How we can show parts of our personality with color? I am so grateful for having the ability to see and feel this enriching part of life.