Our wonderful world! -Part 1-
Last April, I came across a very beautiful Teaching which made me awaken to how truly wonderful it is to be a human being. Indeed human beings are the highest works of art created by God and being able to live life as a human being is something that is worthy of profound gratitude. I would like to begin this miniseries of blog posts beginning with my thoughts about the wonder of colours.
THE WONDER OF COLOURS
God created us special! Yes He really did, because of all the creatures in the world we have the gift of appreciating colours. Animals have limited experience of colours, in fact they are only given enough to aide their vision. We however, have the experience of millions of different colour tones.
Have you ever taken a look at an orchid up close? Especially those purple ones that are so common? Have you noticed that there are so many different shades of violet, white, purple and even yellow and green in that flower? Wondrous!
What about a banana? Have you realised that there are so many tones of yellow and brown in a banana? Or an apple? Truly wondrous isn't it that only we humans are able to appreciate so many different colours. Masters of the past and aspirants today have realised this wonder and transformed their passions into works of art that we appreciate in art galleries (like the one Meesh is working for).
I blogged earlier that Oscar Wilde said "Art is quite useless". He was wrong I think. Art is quite useful if it can give life to the human spirit. However, I think it would only be possible to appreciate art in its totality when we can appreciate that we are able to fathom the wonder and beauty of colour. What a gift indeed!
In recent days I have been contemplating about changing the colour of my room. So I read up more about the effects of colour psychologically. For example,
Yellow is bright, happy and stimulating. It is associated with intellect and the expression of thoughts. It improves memory, judgement and the capacity for decision-making.Red is a very powerful colour, associated with a high level of energy and stimulation. It goes hand in hand with adjectives such as courageous, antidepressant, assertive, determined, friendly, warm, and sensual.
More information is available here.
Clearly the different colours I see everyday have a profound impact on our lives. How powerful colour is! It affects our thinking and emotions without us noticing it!
Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, KL.
Shophouses painted in all kinds of colours.
In reminiscence, I remember that a friend's mom told her son who had been watching TV for long hours to 'go look at some greenery'. I thought it was odd then... but green happens to be,
Green's strong link with nature seems to bring us closer to nature and to one another. In addition to fostering peace of mind, green seems to balance certain of our physiological functions, among them our heart, lungs and blood circulation. Certain studies even suggest that green promotes deep, slow breathing.
In the past and even in the present, colours reflect the status one may have in society. There was Royal Blue, a special blue worn by the royals in Europe. In China and in Malaysia there is Yellow which was the symbol of Royalty. The people of holy professions chose white as their colour as a symbol of their purity.
The changing of the seasons are defined by specific colours. In Malaysia we may not have 4 seasons, but in other countries, the colours of each season is what makes them special. I remember fondly in Autumn the different kinds of reds and yellows swirling gracefully to the ground. In winter, I played in the pure snow looking at the reflection of light in the ice. Then there is the very colourful blooms of Spring and the greens of Summer.
It is truly wonderful to have colours.
I wish everyone a colourful day and a colourful life. =)
Sources and references:
Hawaii.com
Paint Cafe