Taking a closer look

It is extraordinarily astonishing how our earth knows how to transition, with almost perfect balance, the four seasons. Granted, there are places on earth where the changing seasons are barely noticeable. Happily this is not the case in the United States. The seasons here are bold.

Earth wants you to know it is time for a change. Ok, so if you live in Florida or Arizona you have a sense of the seasons changing because of human migration (sorry.)  But pretty much everywhere else there is a distinct feel for change. The topography blankets itself from the whitest of whites in winter to the key lime greens of spring, then to the wild burst of  tangerines and oranges of Summer…and finally (my favorite)…the intense rusts and muted moss greens of Fall.  This kaleidoscope of color is brought to us courtesy of Mother Nature.

 Here’s something I often do that is somewhat of a meditation. After I finish this brief exercise, I have an entirely new appreciation for my surroundings. Try it and see how you feel…here goes:

STOP. Quietly sit and observe the space around you (I mean observe not just look), then select individual items or things and describe them mentally to yourself using precise, descriptive adjectives for color. Like this:

The walls in my office are hot pink. But I really look at them as a combination of fuchsia and raspberry with a tinge of shocking “Schiaparelli” pink. Now that’s descriptive!  I think about raspberries, about raspberry coulis, about fuchsia flowers that look like little earrings, and about Elsa Schiaparelli and her avant-garde fashion flare….I take a mental promenade just by observing the color of my walls.  Then I take a deep breath and smile.