It started so innocently. I had begun replacing the things that needed to be replaced through out the year. A wallet, a cover for my laptop, and I also picked up notebook for blogging. Even though these items were totally different the had one thing in common.
They were all various shades of blue.
Not the deep dark blue of a sky scattered with stars, or the murky grey blue of the eastern shores. They weren’t even the dark indigo that I love so much in a pair of jeans. This blue was a beautiful Colorado sky blue on a sunny day, or the blue water that borders the city of Miami, or the gorgeous turquoise color found in jewelry in Santa Fe. In fact, I had unknowingly purchased so many blue things that I had to laugh. A bubbling, joyful laughter that came from deep within me.
The thing is, I hadn’t been truly happy for a long time. I wore dark muted colors. Not the chic crisp gorgeous black that chic women in New York City and Paris effortlessly wear with a deep red lipstick, or rich browns that remind you of the earth after a good rain. No, I was wearing the faded black of too many washes, and the murky brown of nubby sweaters.
The Color of My Happy
In that moment when I gathered all of my things around my I realized that my happy color right now is blue! When I was younger it was purple. I had a thing for Prince. I couldn’t get enough of him. I wore purple from head to toe. Blissfully! Then there was the year where everything was orange. Orange to rival the sun. This year it is blue.
What Color Is Your Happy?
Is there a color that you associate with your happiness? Or, is there a color that just makes you feel happy when you see it?
When you’ve had low years what are the subtle clues to you that you’re in a better frame of mind and that things are changing for the better?
This Past Decade Kinda Sucked
The past ten years were kind of rough. In fact, we could go back further to 9/11 and the temporary death of our national optimism. We could even go further to the 2000 election that pissed everyone off (I won’t go into that). Then there was Katrina which broke our hearts. Oh, and don’t forget the “Great” Recession. A lot of us (myself included) had to make some pragmatic choices and sacrifices because of our finances and because of the external circumstances affecting our personal economies.
We Survived
In all of this woe is me thought I forgot the most important thing. We survived, I survived, all of the crap that the universe can fling at you…like gorillas flinging their poop at you at the zoo. You dodge it and move on.
I’ve learned that I can dig deep and continue on. I’ve learned that I am a survivor, resilient, and the power of positivity and faith.
I Am Still Standing
And perhaps that’s the lesson that I had to learn: I am a survivor and despite everything I thrived.
Good Things Still Happened
- I graduated from Graduate School
- I was hired and worked a great job for almost 11 years
- I bought a home
- Traveled to: Miami, San Diego, Montana, St. Louis, Argentina, London, NYC with Mom, and the 2 places I went on this trip
- Learned Spanish and opened another door of communicating with the world
- All the new little people who arrived in the world (my friends’ kids-love them!)
- Started The Shop My Closet Project-Changed my view of the world and what I am capable of
- I grew my net worth grew because of my job
- I met some amazing new friends because of blogging: Tonya, Cat, Lauren, Kassandra, Melanie, Athena, and the list goes ON!!
The Lesson From The Past 10 Years
Life will always be a series of ups and downs. The key is figuring out how to deal with the challenges that come up and deal with them not only with grace, but figure out a plan to move forward.
Cynicism is the dream and soul killer. I was falling into that mindset. Instead of remaining Pollyanna positive, I let things like jealousy and discontent eat away at the my faith that things would be all right.
I’m Still Standing
Let’s get these next ten years right!
What color is your happy?
What do you do to fight thinking negatively?
Have you had a similar life experience?
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Interesting that blue is your color since I always think “the blues.” Red is my favorite color but not sure it represents my happy. Probably green would be my happy color. I think I probably used to think a lot more negatively and would recall and tally up all the bad things that happened to me, but I don’t think I think like that anymore. I think people sometimes keep a scorecard about all the bad things that have happened and it keeps sticking with them, and they totally ignore all the great things they have had in their life.
Like the music? LOL! Totally changing the spin on that. Red is a good luck color in a lot of cultures. I’be actually purchased items in red because of that. You’re totally right about the scorecard-I think it can be hard to keep things in perspective when you do that. I learned that lesson the hard way.
Interesting concept. Purple is my fave color and I love wearing it and carrying it with me where ever I go.
I still love purple!
I think I would say purple is my favorite color, but I have also been gravitating toward blue lately… I think blue has a more calming feel to it. I tend to wear blue and decorate with it quite a bit.
When I start focusing on the negative, I try to step back and think about positive things instead. I’m not always successful, but I’m trying to be more mindful of my negative thoughts because I’ve really noticed that they attract more negativity.
I love purple! I find blue so relaxing and calm. I’m working really hard to stay positive.
Purple is my favourite colour but I don’t know if purple is my “happy colour”. I think it’s pretty and I do love it but does it make me happy… I think my happy colour is basically anything pastels probably. ^__^; Like a rainbow of them.
I find it interesting how so many people love purple. It’s such a rich, powerful color. Pastels in the form of peonies flowers. Love.
I like the idea of having a color that represents optimism for the future! I really like red, which I always equate with power and vibrancy, so I guess I’d say that’s my happy color. I’m all about thinking positively, so I agree with you–it’s a wonderful goal to not let negativity get us down. I am on board with that!
Red is actually one of my other favorite colors. It’s considered good luck in many cultures and I’ve actually purchased a number of red items because of that. I just feel like thinking negatively had stopped working for me. So, I’m going back to positivity.
Oddly enough, since teenage me (who wore all black and was very dramatic and aggressively un-girly) would have been horrified, I think it’s pink. Not bright pink, but dusty rose. I also like brown and deep shades of blue and green, all of which I find very soothing.
I really appreciated this post — you’re right that the last decade-plus has been a horror show. I was a senior in college for the 2000 election and 9/11 was right after I graduated; the economy’s been a mess for the majority of my adult life, and ecological disaster is hovering over everything. That malaise is hard to work against, but you’re right, it’s good to remember that we’re all survivors in a sense — we’ve been resilient enough to navigate through these years. A bit battered, but nevertheless.
The thing is there is a point where either you succumb to the negativity or push through it. If I look at the past 100 years and then look at those years by decades there is always crap happening. Now, the economy is coming back (at least that’s what I see in Colorado) I am healthy, we’re out of unnecessary wars, I own a property, and I get to travel. I was doing all of that through the crappy years. As I move forward I’ve decided that I can’t allow other people’s perceptions of sh$tty situations dictate how I react to what’s going on around me. I refuse to jump on the bandwagon and stop appreciating every moment of the life that I have.
I’ve been obsessed with mint lately – it’s so refreshing and I feel like it gives me a bright little break in my day when I look at it!
Mint is a lovely color and the real deal smells great!