Skip to main content

When Life Isn't The Colors You Want



"You have such a colorful life," many a friend have told me in recent years.

I always smile (in bright pink or yellow, right, though my teeth remain white) and say thank you (with a respectful shade of brown), and say it's all fun (green is life ya know).

But something about the statement of my colorful life irks a dark, black part of my conscious.

You see, my life hasn't always been colorful. Or wait ... it always has been colorful. But not with the shades or colors I like. 

You see, much of my life has felt grey. You know, dull and pointless. It had its times of pastels ... almost, there were colors I liked, but "Why did they have to be so faded and out of reach of what I really wanted?" 

Or, those times of life, when everything was awkwardly fluorescent shades of "I'm trying to colorful, but I'm really going to hurt your eyes".

You see, my life has ALWAYS been colorful.
But it's only now that it's of the colors that I love, and that others can appreciate, too.

I don't care what you say, LIFE IS COLORFUL. 
And I don't care how hard you try, YOU DON'T ALWAYS GET TO CHOOSE THE COLORS. 

So, how did I finally get to the place where I am now able to showcase lovely, vibrant colors?
By learning to see the beauty in the colors that were already mine. But accepting them as what God had given me, and to be thankful for those shades of grey and black and fluorescent green.

First, I had to let the blue release from my soul and trace painful paths down my cheeks. Crying comes for a time before healing. 
I had to learn to see through red as rage ran its course ... to an end. Don't let the sun fall on your anger, but let the anger have its day. 
I had to find God's hand when everything was black, to close my eyes, and to see. Because He had better colors for me to see. All I needed to do was forget what I desired, and to see what He desired. 

And then, somehow, the colors changed.
The dull grey became the refined grey that I love.
The fluorescent colors tamed and left their wild efforts behind to find a place in my heart; a place from which they now explode with radiance.

Or maybe they never changed.
Maybe I finally saw them for their full beauty, and I let them shine. And shine bright, have they. All I had to do was let go and tear through the black to see the colors that had always been waiting, buried underneath.

Don't settle for dull colors.
Don't try for painful colors.

Can't you see the beautiful world God made?
Life is hard ... but textured, cultured, beauty is rarely simple.

Life might not be what you want right now.
Someone else's life might look more colorful than yours.

But is it?
Or is your life just made of purple and orange rather than pink and green?

As soon as you see and accept the beauty God has given you, then will you be able to live a full life that you will love and others will admire. You will have a smile that shines from your eyes to your ears. Getting dressed will be your own art, working will joyous, friendships will have meaning and depth.

Does this mean that God's colors are always easy?
No.
Does this mean that God's colors are always what you want?
No.

But it is possible to live purposefully fulfilled regardless of whether the colors are just what you would've wanted or chosen.
Perception, then acceptance, that's what it's all about. 

What colors do you live by? Vibrant shades, or mediocre, faded colors? 

Inspired by my post, The Colors Of My Life





Comments

  1. Love this! I obsess over colors and all their shades and it always makes me sad when people call one ugly they can all be beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!
      Same! Colors are such lovely things to obsess over. I even certain people with different colors.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Living Like The Amish: Interviews With Three "English" Families PART I

Many people are obsessed with the Amish. I know at one time I was as well, and to a degree I still am. But my perception  has changed with experience. It started a long time ago when my family went to an Amish-held auction (no, it's not a place where you can buy Amish children, but a place where you can buy things from the Amish). I was eleven years old and enthralled to be surrounded by so many Amish. I loved the cockscomb flowers they sold everywhere. I bought a whole box for $2 and dried them for seeds so I could plant my own. But then I experienced my first reality shock concerning the Amish. I had assumed since they lived a simpler life everything about them was completely old-fashioned and natural. Imagine my horror when I saw Amish walking around with soda cans and store-bought ice cream. " Mom ," I said. "He's drinking soda!"  Left to right, back row: Jonny, Jonathan (Dad). Front row: Jacob, Keturah, Rebekah (Mom), Jonah (on Mom's

How Bad Can I Be?: Lyrics That Make You Go "Wow!"

How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just doin' what comes naturally How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just following my destiny How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just doin' what comes naturally How ba-a-a-ad can I be? How bad can I possibly be? Well, there's a principal of nature (principal of nature) That almost every creature knows Called survival of the fittest (survival of the fittest) And check it this is how it goes The animal that is has got to scratch and bite and claw and bite and punch And the animal that doesn't (well the animal that doesn't) winds up Someone else's lu-lu-lu-lu-unch! (I'm just saying') How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just doin' what comes naturally How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just following my destiny How ba-a-a-ad can I be? I'm just doin' what comes naturally How ba-a-a-ad can I be? How bad can I possibly be? Well, there's a principal of business (principal of b

Peace During Patience

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” - Philippians 4:6 My family and I were sitting around the breakfast table several months ago. Mom had just read this verse. One of the kids laughed incredulously, “What is it saying? Be careful for nothing – live recklessly?” “No,” I answered quickly. My tone was very matter-of-fact, blunt, as if I were all-knowing. “It means do not worry.” The kids all nodded among themselves and life continued on for them. But for me life paused at my words. I had heard this verse soooooooo many times. I had always known what it meant. But now? Now it really meant something . “Do not worry.” This path I've chosen. I can not see it. I can not feel it. I do not know where I am. I have chosen to follow God, and no other. But why did He hide the light from my eyes? I must take a step forward. But I do not want to. How long w

Inside The Land Of The Free

Hello. My name is Greg.  I have a lot of time to think. Too much time. Sometimes I think about my life - why I am sitting in prison. I wonder what I could have done different - my life plays before my eyes. "If only..." But even I know that no amount of good works would have stopped tyranny from finding fault with me. It is cold. My clothes are thin. My stomach is empty - occasionally filled with food of no sustenance.  I hide my face in my knees - as if that will somehow protect me from the horrors of this dark cold dungeon.  They keep it cold to freeze me, this I know. It is a part of their game - to drive a lesson into me. As if I have a lesson to learn solely because I was convicted. Convicted, but not  guilty. Years.  68 years for standing against injustice. How many years have I sat in here? I have forgot. All I know is this question, "Was I fated for this? Did God grant my birth