Appreciating A Palette Of Colors

There have been some amazing sunsets in my part of the world as of late. Just after the sun goes down beyond the horizon the sky comes alive with beautiful oranges, reds, blues and peaches & yellows. The whole tonal scale of those colors become extremely vivid. It’s almost as if the colors are alive. The glow of the colors fill the air with an ambiance of light. Every evening is slightly different to the prior evening.

The evening sky is a pastel of color, an artist palate that only nature can display.

I take walks at night when I can. My daughter takes walks at dusk and enthusiastically tells me about the sunsets. It’s so cool that she appreciates this as much as I do. I’ve always told her to be aware of her surroundings, and it’s good to see her becoming aware.

Not everybody is colorblind. There is color all around us and even in the dark of night, you just have to have a keen eye to observe it. I studied Art at university and what I learned is how to observe how the light can make something that might seem ordinary become extraordinary. If you look at a flower, for instance a red flower, you will see a spectrum of that red if you move it around and look at it from different perspectives. I think the same principle applies to life.

What’s your favorite color? Mine is blue and various shades and tones of blue. Remember, each color has a spectrum all its own. I even imagine that there are blues I haven’t even seen yet. I’ve seen some stunning blue colors and some shades of blue that seem rather lifeless, in that it doesn’t seem as vibrant as other shades.

Here’s a good way to observe different hues of color. Get three of your friends or family and under one light observe the color of their skin. Notice the lightness, tones and if possible, notice how the skin tones blend and become slightly different tones and shades from one part of their body to another. It took me a while to see it when I first started and as I started to become aware of the change in the skin tone I started to see a multitude of tones and shades. Especially in how the light reflected off their skin. As the body does not have a perfectly flat surface, the light reflects different hues at different angles. At least that is how I observe it.

Not only is the world full of color, so is the night time. At first everything seems dark and muted, as my eyes adjust to whatever light there is around I can begin to make out colors. No, they are not as vibrant as in the full light of day, but there is color. Take for instance a full moon night and you are out in a large field, like a sporting field. The first thing that I observe is the shades provided by the angle of the moon. As my eyes adjust I begin to make out the color of the grass, any trees in the area and anything else that reflects the moonlight. It definitely has its own spectrum.

People’s skin is more than just black and white. There are reds, oranges, peach, browns and even blues. I cannot understand how people will see a person of a different color to their own and assume that that person is different to them. Take away the skin and we are all blood, muscle tissue and bones. We are all human. I embrace seeing people from the world over and the beauty of their skin. The only thing constant and consistent in our universe is time.

If it weren’t for protons we wouldn’t even be able to see color at all.

There’s a favorite song of mine by my favorite band XTC, it’s called ‘Knuckle Down’. I love this song and it sounds so wonderful. The lyrics are inspiring and I’m crying right now listening to it as I write. Here are some of the lyrics and if you feel like it give the song a listen. Or not. (I wish that the members of XTC allow me to print the lyrics. If not I will take them down)

“Knuckle down,
Love his skin,
It doesn’t matter what colour skin he’s locked in,
Knuckle down,
Knuckle down and love that skin.

Knuckle down,
Love his race,
It doesn’t matter if you win or lose a little face,
Knuckle down and love that race.

One bright morning the world might end with a big bang,
And you’ll never get yourself another chance.
Put aside the hoodoo and some of the voodoo,
‘Bout people being different,
They’re not so different.

Take them by the arm and run to the street,
Take a little drum to supply the beat,
Soon the whole world will be up on it’s feet and dancing.

For my sake,
Won’t you put your knuckles down, boys?
For my sake,
Won’t you put you knuckles down?

Love her skin,
It doesn’t matter what colour skin she’s locked in,
Knuckle down,
Knuckle down and love that skin.

Knuckle down,
Love her race,
It doesn’t matter if you win or lose a little face,
Knuckle down and love that race.

One bright morning you just might wake when the coin drops,
Even though you think that love is such a corny thing.
You can burst the bubble full up with trouble,
Says that people always got to be fighting
(not right!)

Take them by the arm and run to the fields,
Blow on your horn until Jericho yields,
Soon the whole world will lay down swords and shield for singing.

For my sake,
Won’t you put your knuckles down, boys?
For my sake,
Won’t you put you knuckles down?”

An Aside

I hope the human race begins to appreciate the spectrum of colors throughout people around the world. One of my greatest desires is that racism becomes extinguished…, at least for my children’s generation. Enjoy color, celebrate color, we all have this one life to do it. Why not?! It doesn’t matter if you win or lose a little face… love that race.