I’ve been trying to be a good parent, in addition to being a good human. It’s not a joke when you hear others say that it’s the toughest job that you’ll ever love. While teaching my child to be a good human, I’ve found that it’s also a priority to teach them how to communicate – how to express their feelings in a mature way, and how to clearly say what they mean and mean what they say.
It’s not easy. It’s not easy for them, as this is a completely new skill in their language. But not only that, it’s not easy for me. It’s not something that I was taught by my parents or my teachers, or at least by my early education teachers (that I remember). But it is something that I’ve been trying to teach myself through my adult years. It’s not easy to teach a skill you are still learning yourself.
So, I’m trying to break it down to something that may seem simple and I’m using this for both of us as we progress through our individual development. I am taking an approach similar to what we did when the little one was learning to speak their first words…what is the color of kindness?
Is it vibrant? Like color of a child who is excitedly swinging with no cares
Soft, pale? The color of warm sunlight in the morning…a cat napping in the sunlight
Is it your favorite color?
Is kindness refused? What color would that be?
Is it color blind?
And what about those colors that we cannot see?
There is symbolism throughout our world – in works of art, in literature, in our cultures. I’m not highly educated in this area, but I do know that colors will trigger certain feelings for me. I personally like various shades of purple (and have even put it in my hair!). Since blue + red = purple, does my affinity for this color combine the traits associated with the primary colors of blue and red to me and my personality? Calm (Blue) plus Fierce Energy (Red). It’s an interesting thought. Or maybe it is associated with royalty? What about in the spectrum of chi and chakras? My own, informal research says that purple and violet relate to spirituality and the Crown Chakra (the purple one) is associated with wisdom. Does this transfer to how we position ourselves in business and marketing, or how we interact with each other in everyday life?
And what happens when cultures shift and change? Pink, currently, is associated with softness, femininity, sweetness, and love. However, a simple Google search shows how it was formerly used as a masculine color, frequently used for baby boys, and that it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the gender roles of pink and blue were reversed. Is there a color that could be associated with the change of beliefs from one of violence and turmoil to one of kindness to all individuals, peoples, and things?
My kid and I started a random conversation on a rainy afternoon about the colors of the rainbow. It’s been fun to take a few minutes to search out meanings with my kid and to hear the feedback on what colors give the feelings that are being felt. What do you think about color meanings?
“What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.”
#anyway #reflectionsofanyway #kindness #anywaypoem #motherteresa #motherteresaquotes
Reflections of Anyway 